In a significant development which could have a bearing on Sino-Indian relations too, China today reappointed Wang Yi as the country’s foreign minister, removing Qin Gang who has been missing from the public eye for over a month.
China’s top legislature on Tuesday convened a session at which Wang, who had been serving as director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission Office since January 2023, was reappointed as the foreign minister. Wang, the highest ranking diplomat, was earlier the foreign minister from 2013 to 2022.
Significantly, the announcement came even as Wang was representing China at the BRICS NSAs (National Security Advisers) meeting in South Africa. He also held a meeting with India’s NSA Ajit Doval on the sidelines.
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Qin was appointed the foreign minister on 30 December 2022. He was last seen in public on 25 June when he met his counterparts from Russia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. His planned meetings since then have either been cancelled or Wang has represented China at these meetings. In fact, Wang also attended the ASEAN engagements in Indonesia earlier this month where he held bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
A US publication stated that Qin’s removal preceded weeks of silence during which his own ministry refused to provide any information regarding his whereabouts. There has been speculation about some political or personal missteps to a serious sickness.
As far as Wang is concerned, he has a good equation with Jaishankar, a former Indian envoy to Beijing. He also enjoys a close working relationship with NSA Doval. It is to be seen if Wang’s reappointment as the foreign minister will help India and China resolve the ongoing military stand-off at eastern Ladakh.
