China’s tough-talking foreign minister — in office for just over six months — has been absent from the public eye for more than three weeks despite a flurry of diplomatic activity in Beijing, triggering intense speculation over the reason for his unexplained disappearance.
Qin Gang, 57, is a seasoned and rapidly rising Chinese diplomatic star. He served as China’s ambassador to the U.S. for about a year and a half from July 2021, then was handed the foreign ministry portfolio last December and named a State Councilor — the third highest-ranking position in China’s central government — in March.
The concerns over Qin’s disappearance were initially addressed by Foreign Ministry officials a week ago, when it was announced that he would skip an annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia due to “health reasons.” The ministry did not elaborate further, fueling public speculation that he had contracted COVID-19.