Qin Gang[a] (born 19 March 1966) is a Chinese former diplomat and politician who served as the 12th Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 2022 to July 2023 and as State Councillor 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] According to The Washington Post,Qin had been demoted to a position at an MFA-affiliated publishing house as of September 2024.
Early life and education
Qin Gang was born in Tianjin,China on 19 March 1966.[3][4]
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]
Qin was reportedly the person responsible for sending Chinese diplomat Li Hui to Ukraine,against Russia's wishes.Qin with Dutch Foreign MinisterWopke Hoekstra,23 May 2023Qin 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]
As foreign minister,in 2023,Qin criticized the tag of being a wolf warrior diplomat saying that the label is a "narrative trap" by those who "know little about China and its diplomacy or have a hidden agenda in disregard of facts."[22]
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).[30][31] Qin's predecessor Wang Yi,was re-appointed to the office.[32] China's foreign ministry and state media agencies,including Xinhua News Agency,did not explain Qin's dismissal.[33][34][35] All mentions of Qin during his tenure as foreign minister were removed from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website,[36][37] though they were restored the following day.[38] With a tenure of 207 days,Qin is the shortest-serving minister of foreign affairs of the People's Republic of China.[39]
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.[40]
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.[41] On 18 July 2024,the 3rd Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee approved Qin's resignation from the Central Committee.[42]
Speculation
According to a 19 September 2023 article in The Wall Street Journal,Qin had engaged in an extramarital relationship while serving as ambassador.[43] The Journal cited two unnamed sources who stated that the relationship resulted in the birth of a child while in the United States.[43] 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.[43]
According to a 26 September 2023 article by the Financial Times,Qin was in a relationship with Fu Xiaotian,citing unnamed sources.[44] 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.[44] Citing two unnamed individuals,Politico Europe wrote that Qin may have committed suicide or died following torture in July.[45]
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.[46][47] 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.[48]Ming Pao reported citing sources that this reporting was mistaken,and that World Affairs Press only had an employee with the same name as Qin Gang.[49]
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.[50][51][52]
Personal life
Qin is married to Lin Yan.[53] According to the official resume published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,he has one son.[5][54]
↑ 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.
↑ "（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.
↑ "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.
↑ 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.
↑ "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.
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