China’s Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, has been removed from office after disappearing from public view for 30 days.
The official announcement came after weeks of speculations about Qin’s fate. He has been replaced with his predecessor, Wang Yi.
Qin, 57, a former ambassador to Washington, was appointed to the post last December. The lack of clarity surrounding his position is reportedly linked to some personal transgressions, possibly an extramarital affair with a TV personality, according to The New York Times.
Qin visited Islamabad in May where he met the Taliban Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi. He and his Pakistani counterpart, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, agreed to extend China’s Belt and Road Initiative to Afghanistan.
