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Qin Gang

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this Chinese name, the family name is Qin.
Qin Gang
秦刚
Qin in 2023
State Councilor of the People's Republic of China
In office
12 March 2023 – 24 October 2023
PremierLi Qiang
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
30 December 2022 – 25 July 2023
Premier
Preceded byWang Yi
Succeeded byWang Yi
Chinese Ambassador to the United States
In office
27 July 2021 – 5 January 2023
Preceded byCui Tiankai
Succeeded byXie Feng
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
7 September 2018 – 27 July 2021
MinisterWang Yi
Preceded byLi Baodong
Succeeded byDeng Li
Director of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
2 January 2015 – 7 September 2018
Preceded byZhang Kunsheng
Succeeded byHong Lei
Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
December 2011 – January 2015
Preceded byMa Zhaoxu
Succeeded byLiu Jianchao
Personal details
Born (1966-03-19) 19 March 1966 (age 58)
Tianjin, Hebei, China
(now Tianjin, China)
DisappearedJune 2023
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1988–present)
SpouseLin Yan
Children2
Alma materUniversity of International Relations (LLB)
CabinetLi Qiang Government
Signature
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese秦刚
Traditional Chinese秦剛
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinQín Gāng

Qin Gang[a] (born 19 March 1966) is a Chinese former diplomat and politician who served as the 12th Minister of Foreign Affairs of China from December 2022 to July 2023 and as State Councillor of China from March to October 2023.

Qin previously served as Ambassador of China to the United States from 2021 to 2023, vice minister of foreign affairs of China from 2018 to 2021, director of protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2015 to 2018, and director of information at Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2015. He disappeared from public view in June 2023 and was removed from the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs on 25 July 2023.[1][2]

Early life and education

[edit]

Qin Gang was born in Tianjin, China on 19 March 1966.[3][4]

Qin received a Bachelor of Law with a major in international politics from the University of International Relations in 1988.[5][6]

Early career

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After his graduation from college, Qin worked as a staff member at the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions. In 1992, he entered China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as attaché and Third Secretary at the Department of West European Affairs. Later, he worked at the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom as Secretary and Counselor from 1995 to 2005, and worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Department as the Deputy Director-General and spokesman from 2005 to 2010.[4]

U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns meeting with Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Qin Gang, before Qin's departure for the U.S.

In September 2010, Qin was appointed as the Envoy of the People's Republic of China to the United Kingdom. In December 2011, he returned to Beijing to serve as the director general of the Foreign Ministry Information Department. From 2014 to 2017, Qin served as the Director General of the Foreign Ministry Protocol Department. He became Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China in 2017 and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China in September 2018.[7][8][9]

Ambassador to the United States

[edit]

In July 2021, Qin became the 11th Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the United States, succeeding Cui Tiankai, pursuant to a National People's Congress Standing Committee decision.[10][11]

On 22 September 2021,[12] Qin advocated the CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping's concept of whole-process people's democracy at a conference organized by U.S. think tanks the Carter Center and The George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, stating, "Isn't it obvious that both China's people-center philosophy and President Lincoln's 'of the people, by the people, for the people' are for the sake of the people? [...] Shall we understand China's socialist whole-process democracy as this: from the people, to the people, with the people, for the people?"[13]

In January 2022, in an interview with NPR, Qin called allegations of Uyghur genocide "fabrications, lies and disinformation."[14]

In April 2022, a special question and answer (Q&A) session between the three taikonauts of Shenzhou 13 aboard the Tiangong space station and American students was held in the Chinese Embassy in the United States, Washington, D.C. Qin served as the official host of the event.[15]

In August 2022, Qin called the 2022 visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan a "farce" and a "total political provocation."[16]

Minister of Foreign Affairs

[edit]
Qin was reportedly the person responsible for sending Chinese diplomat Li Hui to Ukraine, against Russia's wishes.[17]
Qin with Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, 23 May 2023
Qin with U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing, 18 June 2023

Qin was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs of China on 30 December 2022, succeeding Wang Yi.[18][19] He vacated the post of Chinese ambassador to the United States on 5 January 2023.[20] Qin was appointed as a State Councilor during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress on the nomination of the newly appointed premier Li Qiang on 12 March 2023.[21]

Removal

[edit]

On 11 July 2023, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced that Qin would not be attending the ASEAN foreign ministers meetings held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 13 and 14 July for health reasons. Instead, he was represented by his predecessor Wang Yi, who is serving as the director of the Office of the CCP's Central Foreign Affairs Commission, the top diplomatic post in China at the meetings. Qin has not been seen in public since 25 June 2023 – when he held talks with counterparts from Russia, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka[22] – and did not meet visiting dignitaries including United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and former United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in July.[23][24][25] His non-availability was one of the reasons for the cancellation of High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell's visit to China in July.[26] Speculation around Qin's disappearance centered on an alleged affair with Hong Kong reporter Fu Xiaotian, who also seemed to disappear around the same time.[27][28]

On 25 July 2023, Qin was removed from the office as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China by a decree signed by president Xi Jinping, after a list of appointments and removals was passed by the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).[29][30] Qin's predecessor Wang Yi, was re-appointed to the office.[31] China's foreign ministry and state media agencies, including Xinhua News Agency, did not explain Qin's dismissal.[32][33][34] All mentions of Qin during his tenure as foreign minister were removed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website,[35][36] though they were restored the following day.[37] With a tenure of 207 days, Qin is the shortest-serving minister of foreign affairs of the People's Republic of China.[38]

The sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th NPC, concluded on 24 October 2023, decided to remove Qin Gang from the post of State Councillor, and remove Li Shangfu from the posts of State Councillor and Minister of National Defense.[39]

On 27 February 2024, Chinese state media announced that Qin had resigned as a lawmaker from the 14th NPC and his resignation was accepted by the Tianjin Municipal People's Congress Standing Committee.[40] On 18 July 2024, the 3rd Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee approved Qin's resignation from the Central Committee.[41]

Speculation

[edit]

According to a 19 September 2023 article in The Wall Street Journal, Qin had engaged in an extramarital relationship while serving as ambassador.[42] The Journal cited two unnamed sources who stated that the relationship resulted in the birth of a child while in the United States.[42] According to the Journal, Qin was cooperating with a CCP investigation focusing on whether the extramarital relationship or Qin's conduct had compromised Chinese national security.[42]

According to a 26 September 2023 article by the Financial Times, Qin was in a relationship with Fu Xiaotian, citing unnamed sources.[43] According to the article, Qin and Fu met in London in 2010, when both were in the UK, and they developed a closer relationship nearly a decade later in Beijing. It also mentioned that Fu had a child with the help of a surrogate mother in the U.S. It mentioned that Qin began to limit contact with Fu after his appointment as foreign minister, prompting Fu to drop hints about their relationship on social media.[43] Citing two unnamed individuals, Politico Europe wrote that Qin may have committed suicide or died following torture in July.[44]

According to Nikkei Asia, sources familiar with China–Russia relations said that "Qin Gang became the first victim of the informational warfare that reflects a discord between China and Russia."[17]

BBC Chinese noted that the 18 July 2024 announcement of Qin's resignation from the 20th CCP Central Committee referred him as "Comrade" (Chinese: 同志; pinyin: Tóngzhì), suggesting that Qin was allowed to resign voluntarily and that he will not be held criminally responsible for the actions that brought about his removal.[45][46] In September 2024, two former U.S. officials who spoke to The Washington Post stated that Qin has been nominally assigned to a low-level job at the World Affairs Press, a publishing house affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[47]

On 18 October 2024, The Wall Street Journal released a three-part podcast which stated sources told them the Russians told the Chinese that Fu Xiaotian was a UK MI6 agent.[48][49][50]

Personal life

[edit]

Qin is married to Lin Yan.[51] According to the official resume published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has one son.[5][52]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Chinese: 秦刚; pinyin: Qín Gāng

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Xi Jinping's foreign minister ousted after month-long unexplained absence from public view". CNN. 25 July 2023.
  2. ^ "China removes Qin Gang as foreign minister after one-month absence". CNBC. 25 July 2023.
  3. ^ Bagshaw, Eryk (25 July 2023). "'I think he is gone': The strange disappearance of China's foreign minister Qin Gang". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Biography of Ambassador Qin Gang — Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America". Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  5. ^ a b 京华时报 (2 January 2015). 外交部新闻司司长由刘建超兼任 秦刚任礼宾司司长 – 国际 – 人民网. People's Daily. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  6. ^ moe.gov.cn (3 March 2020). 普通高等学校本科专业目录 (PDF). Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  7. ^ 秦刚 个性发言人出任驻英公使. Xinhua (in Chinese). 20 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 October 2010.
  8. ^ 秦刚接替马朝旭出任外交部新闻司司长(图/简历). People's Daily (in Chinese). 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  9. ^ 秦刚升任外交部副部长. People's Daily. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  10. ^ 驻美国大使秦刚抵美履新. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. ^ Lahiri, Tripti; Timsit, Annabelle (30 July 2021). "Why China's new ambassador to the US is unlikely to go full "wolf warrior"". Quartz. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021.
  12. ^ "China's Whole-Process Democracy: From the people, To the peopleWith the people, For the people_Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America". us.china-embassy.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Xi's U.S. Envoy Invokes Lincoln in Declaring China a Democracy". Bloomberg News. 23 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  14. ^ Inskeep, Steve (28 January 2022). "China's ambassador to the U.S. warns of 'military conflict' over Taiwan". NPR. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  15. ^ Cartwright, Joshua (10 April 2022). "Elon Musk featured in Chinese embassy event focused on space exploration". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  16. ^ "China's 'Wolf Warrior' diplomacy looks set to continue under Xi Jinping". Radio Free Asia. 3 January 2023. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  17. ^ a b Nakazawa, Katsuji (14 December 2023). "Analysis: Did Putin's tip lead Xi to purge his foreign minister?". Nikkei Asia.
  18. ^ Tian, Yew Lun; Martina, Michael (30 December 2022). "China promotes its U.S. envoy Qin Gang to foreign minister". Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  19. ^ 秦刚任外交部部长_中华人民共和国外交部. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  20. ^ "Chinese president appoints new ambassadors – Xinhua". Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  21. ^ "十四届全国人大一次会议举行第五次全体会议决定国务院其他组成人员 国家主席习近平签署主席令任命_中国人大网". National People's Congress. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang removed from office". Al Jazeera. 25 July 2023. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  23. ^ Tobin, Meaghan (25 July 2023). "Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang removed from post after only 7 months". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  24. ^ Buckley, Chris; Pierson, David (17 July 2023). "Where Is China's Foreign Minister? Beijing Won't Clear Up the Mystery". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  25. ^ Khaliq, Riyaz ul (20 July 2023). "Amid heavy diplomatic traffic, China's top diplomat still off public". Anadolu Agency. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  26. ^ Sim, Dewey; Zhou, Laura; Zheng, William (11 July 2023). "'Health reasons': Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to miss Asean meeting". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  27. ^ McDonell, Stephen (26 July 2023). "Qin Gang: The swift rise and mysterious fall of China's missing foreign minister". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  28. ^ Malleck, Julia (25 July 2023). "China confirmed its missing foreign minister Qin Gang has been sacked from the government". Quartz. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  29. ^ "（受权发布）全国人民代表大会常务委员会决定任免的名单" [(Authorized for publication) List of appointments and dismissals ordered by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]. Xinhua News Agency. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  30. ^ "中华人民共和国主席令（第八号）" [Order of the President of the People's Republic of China (No. 8)]. State Council of the People's Republic of China. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  31. ^ "China replaces foreign minister Qin after brief stint and weeks of speculation". Reuters. 25 July 2023. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  32. ^ McDonell, Stephen; Fraser, Simon; Ng, Kelly (25 July 2023). "Qin Gang: China removes foreign minister after unexplained absence". BBC News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Gone in seven months: China's fired foreign minister Qin Gang". CNA. 25 July 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
  34. ^ Pierson, David (27 July 2023). "After Ousting a Top Official, China Erases Him and Evades Questions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Dramatic ouster of Qin Gang underscores 'uncertainty, lack of transparency' in China's political system: Analysts". CNA. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  36. ^ Pierson, David (27 July 2023). "After Ousting a Top Official, China Erases Him and Evades Questions". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  37. ^ Hawkins, Amy (27 July 2023). "China: Qin Gang mystery intensifies as articles wiped from ministry site reappear". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  38. ^ Lai Jinhong 賴錦宏. "秦剛遭免職 成為中共史上任期最短的外長" [Qin Gang dismissed: Shortest serving Foreign Minister in CCP history]. United Daily News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  39. ^ 朱英. "十四届全国人大常委会第六次会议在京闭幕__中国政府网". www.gov.cn. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  40. ^ Zhuang, Pinghui; Dang, Yuanyue (27 February 2024). "China's former foreign minister Qin Gang resigns from legislature after long absence from public view". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  41. ^ Shi, Jiangtao (18 July 2024). "Ousted Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang loses seat in Communist Party inner circle". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  42. ^ a b c "China's ex-Foreign Minister Qin Gang was ousted after alleged affair, WSJ reports". Reuters. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  43. ^ a b McMorrow, Ryan; Kynge, James; Yang, Yuan; Ho-him, Chan; Yu, Sun; Leahy, Joe (26 September 2023). "Chinese TV presenter linked to missing foreign minister had surrogate child in US". Financial Times. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  44. ^ "China's Xi goes full Stalin with purge". POLITICO. 6 December 2023.
  45. ^ Brazil, Matthew (4 October 2024). "The Qin Gang Saga Reveals Security Gaps". Jamestown Foundation. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  46. ^ "中共二十届三中全会：2029年完成改革任务，秦刚辞去中央委员仍是"同志"". BBC News (in Chinese). 18 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  47. ^ Nakashima, Ellen; Shepherd, Christian (8 September 2024). "China's 'disappeared' foreign minister demoted to low-level publishing job, say former U.S. officials". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  48. ^ Wei, Lingling (18 October 2024). "The Missing Minister, Episode 1: The Vanishing of Qin Gang". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  49. ^ https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/the-missing-minister-episode-2-the-affair/564893cb-6c77-4475-9b49-619a89c55585
  50. ^ https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/the-journal/the-missing-minister-episode-3-the-downfall/26f248c8-96ab-43fe-a753-bae8f12844cf
  51. ^ "Chinese TV presenter had 'surrogate' child with foreign minister". Australian Financial Review. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  52. ^ "秦刚大使简历". 中华人民共和国驻美利坚合众国大使馆 People's Republic of China Embassy in the United States of America. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
[edit]
Government offices
Preceded by Director of Foreign Ministry Information Department
2011–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Director of Foreign Ministry Protocol Department
2015–2018 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
2018–2021 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2022–2023 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Ambassador of China to the United States
2021–2023 		Succeeded by
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