China: Foreign Minister Qin Gang relieved of his duties, replaced by predecessor

In office since the end of December 2022, Mr Qin has not been seen since 25 June after a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart in Beijing

Transcript

00:00 Chinese Foreign Minister Ching Gan has been relieved of his duties according to state media.

00:06 No further explanation was provided.

00:08 In office since the end of December 2022, Mr. Chin has not been seen since the 25th of June.

00:14 Since then, he missed several diplomatic events,

00:17 including a major meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Indonesia around early July.

00:24 The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs justified Ching Gan's absence on the grounds of health reasons.

00:30 But that was not enough to quieten online rumors and speculation of his whereabouts.

00:36 Mr. Chin has been replaced by his predecessor Wang Yi.

00:39 Over the past month in Ching Gan's absence, Wang Yi was already fulfilling some of the duties of the now ex-minister.

00:47 [WHOOSH]