China's foreign minister, Qin Gang, has been removed from his post following an unexplained absence from public view.
There had been questions about Qin's whereabouts since his last appearance on June 25 in Beijing, when he met officials from Sri Lanka and Russia.
Speculation intensified when he didn't attend the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering of foreign ministers in Indonesia earlier this month.
China's foreign ministry said his absence was due to an unspecified health issue and it has since kept tight-lipped about his status.
A week before he disappeared, Qin met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing. There was then no official explanation for a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, scheduled for July 4, being pushed back.
A former ambassador to the U.S., Qin was considered a close associate of President Xi Jinping. He was been appointed to the role in December 2022 ahead of more experienced politicians.
He was one of the best-known faces of the Chinese government and his absence has spurred rumors among diplomats, China watchers and the Chinese public.
State news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday that following a decree signed by Xi, Gang "was removed from the post of foreign minister."
The agency added that China's top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi, the Communist Party foreign affairs chief, to replace him, but gave no further details.
Under the Chinese Communist Party system, the foreign minister implements policy directed by a high-level official and Qin's disappearance had curtailed diplomatic activity, but it's thought to have had little impact on China's foreign policy.
Wang Yi was foreign minister between 2013 and 2022 and is currently in South Africa for the BRICS summit.
Although he won't have a portfolio, Qin will stay in China's State Council. It's unclear what his role in Chinese foreign policy will be.
Patricia Thornton, a Chinese politics professor at the University of Oxford, told The Guardian that Qin staying in the state council suggested he faced an ongoing investigation and there was "sufficient concern to remove him as foreign minister."
Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, told The Washington Post that Qin's silence "has been hugely damaging for Chinese diplomacy" and that the secrecy with the Communist Party is "having a debilitating effect on the country's ability to work with the outside world."
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese foreign ministry for comment.
