Like many parts of the Chinese governing apparatus, China’s foreign ministry has long been under the shadow of former Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin—even during the years of his successor Hu Jintao. A clutch of prominent diplomats all had personal ties to Jiang. But now, all that appears to be changing, with several recent new appointments and quiet resignations of old hands.
The Party’s anti-corruption taskforce made clear that change was in the wind after a Nov. 15 inspection of key Chinese diplomatic outposts in North America, including the Embassy in Washington, D.C., the country’s UN Mission, and the consulate in Toronto. Led by Xie Hangchan, the secretary of the discipline-inspection commission for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the team later “offered feedback and demanded changes,” according to a summary on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Ten days later a new appointment was made: Zhang Qiyu, currently assigned to the PRC’s Mission at the United Nations, will become the consul general in New York after the current consul general, Sun Guoxiang, steps aside in December.
“The inspection by the anti-corruption authorities means that there are going to be changes in the Chinese diplomatic circle,” said Zhou Xiaohui, a political columnist for the Chinese edition of the Epoch Times, who recently wrote about the changes.
“Perhaps a certain current diplomat is going to step down unexpectedly, or a certain retired diplomatic will soon be put under investigation. Almost certainly the influence of Jiang’s group in Chinese diplomatic circles is set to wane.”
Family Ties and Influence
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has always been unique organization: immediate relatives—often husbands and wives, fathers and sons or daughters—often all work in the diplomatic sector. This is in part to allow family members to spend time with one another, where they would otherwise be separated due to the long-term overseas and rotational postings in the ministry. Couples often work in a single division or bureau, and learn the same foreign languages, according to Boxun, an overseas Chinese news website.
