China replaces foreign minister Qin Gang with predecessor Wang Yi, after brief stint and weeks of speculation

On Tuesday analysts urged caution about jumping to conclusions.

“He keeps his more senior position as a state councillor,” tweeted Neil Thomas from the Asia Society Policy Institute, a US think tank. “So not 100 per cent sure this is a purge.”

Manoj Kewalramani, a China expert at the Takshashila Institution in Bengaluru in India, told AFP that Qin keeping the State Council role “could be a product of his proximity to Xi Jinping”.

“It could be also a sign that this was not a product of displeasure with his work or any disciplinary violation but rather a health issue which prevents him from carrying out the intense (foreign minister) role,” he said.

Qin’s duties had lately been taken on by China’s top diplomat Wang, who leads the ruling Communist Party’s foreign policy and outranks Qin in the government hierarchy. Wang was this week representing China at a national security advisers’ meeting of BRICS countries in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“Rather than bring in someone new, you’ve got Wang Yi,” said Kewalramani. “So you have somebody who’s experienced… and can continue at least for the near future in that role.”

Thomas noted that, because Wang now had two jobs, the situation “could be a temporary arrangement”.

“Wang Yi is a veteran of China’s diplomacy, and he is greatly trusted by the whole country,” tweeted Hu Xijin, a prominent commentator with the Global Times state tabloid.

Both Qin’s removal and Wang’s appointment were trending on social media platform Weibo on Tuesday evening.

Qin’s absence over the past month had left a vacuum at the top of China’s foreign ministry.

A visit to Beijing by the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was abruptly called off this month.

And Bloomberg reported on Friday that a visit by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was also postponed due to Qin’s situation.

Wang, 69, now retakes the role he held between 2018 and 2022.

State media did not report why Qin was removed from office and China’s foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

“The lack of an explanation opens more questions than provides answers,” said Chong Ja Ian, associate professor of political science at National University of Singapore.

“Developments surrounding Qin suggests that no one is indispensable. It also underscores the opacity and unpredictability, even arbitrariness in the current political system.”

It comes amid a flurry of international engagements and frayed ties with rival superpower the United States, which Beijing has described as at their lowest point since the establishment of diplomatic relations.

The world’s two biggest economies are at odds over issues including Ukraine and Beijing’s close ties to Moscow, trade and technology disputes and Taiwan, the democratic, self-ruled island which Beijing claims as its own.

“I think the main point here is China wants to avoid the embarrassment of continuously having Wang Yi appearing at these foreign minister level meetings without having the appropriate titles,” said Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University.