Mystery as Chinese foreign minister 'disappears'

Qin Gang missed a number of important diplomatic meetings, including the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Jakarta. Credit: Lingtao Zhang/Getty Images

The Chinese Foreign Minister has not been seen for nearly a month, leading to rumors of his whereabouts in a country where the private lives of high-ranking officials are shrouded in mystery.

Qin Gang's last public appearance was a meeting with officials from Russia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam on June 25.

Since then, he has missed a number of high-profile diplomatic meetings at home and abroad, including a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers in Jakarta earlier this month. He will likely miss the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in Johannesburg next week.

He was conspicuously absent from a meeting of senior foreign delegates in Beijing this week, including Henry Kissinger, and a rare visit from Ukraine's deputy economy minister.

Other events appear to have stalled as well. Foreign Secretary James Cleverley's trip to China, originally scheduled for early this month, has yet to be confirmed. Another letter from Josep Borrell, European Union foreign policy chief, was canceled by Beijing.

Unspecified «health reasons»

Officially, the Chinese government has said that Mr. Qin is absent for unspecified «health reasons» and that Wang Yi, the country's top diplomat, will replace him at the ASEAN meeting.

Responding to a question about Mr. Qin's absence from a regular briefing on Monday, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said she had «no information to provide.»

The lack of clarity about his whereabouts has led to speculation that he has fallen out of favor, as often happens when high-ranking Chinese officials disappear from public view. But so far, there is nothing to indicate that he was involved in political issues.

There is a rumor that he had an affair with Fu Xiaotian, a Chinese TV presenter.

The host, who also recently disappeared from public view, was accused of flirting with Mr. Qin in an interview last March, which could lead to violations of China's Ministry of State Security rules.

Protege of leader Xi Jinping and considered a loyalist, Mr. Qin was considered a rising star.

He was previously a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, where he earned a reputation among Western diplomats for his sharp tongue as one of China's new «wolf warrior» diplomats.

He was promoted to foreign minister after serving as China's ambassador to the United States for less than two years.

After returning to Beijing, he played a key role in overseeing US-China relations, including a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that lasted more than five hours in June.