US Invites New Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi After Predecessor’s Ouster

The United States said that it has extended an invitation to newly-appointed Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, following the sudden dismissal of Qin Gang, who had been completely out of the public eye for over a month.

China's newly appointed Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, in Ankara, Turkey, on July 26, 2023. POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The United States stated on Aug. 1 that new Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been invited for a visit, in an offer that had originally been made to Wang’s predecessor, Qin Gang.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) last week reappointed Mr. Wang as China’s foreign minister, a position he had held for 10 years until the end of 2022, after Mr. Qin was removed from the role on July 25, just seven months after taking the job and a month after disappearing from the public eye.

The last time he was seen in state media was on June 25, when he welcomed diplomats from Russia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. No explanation was given for the personnel change.

The invitation to Mr. Wang came on July 31 during a meeting between Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, and Yang Tao, director-general of North American and Oceanian affairs at China’s Foreign Ministry, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

“In the meeting yesterday, we extended the invitation that had previously been made to the former foreign minister, Qin Gang, and made clear that that invitation did transfer over to Minister Yi,” he told reporters.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) walks with China's then-foreign minister, Qin Gang (R), ahead of a meeting at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on June 18, 2023. Leah Millis/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The invitation was initially extended to Mr. Qin during U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing on June 18. Both sides had agreed to schedule “a reciprocal visit at a mutually suitable time.”

When asked if Mr. Wang accepted the invitation, Mr. Miller said he would leave it to Beijing to address their side of the matter but noted that the United States expects the visit to happen.

“We certainly expect that it is something that they would accept, and it is a trip that we expect to happen, but we have not yet scheduled a date,” he said.

Mr. Kritenbrink’s meeting with Mr. Yang in Washington came amid the Biden administration’s efforts to improve ties with China. The meeting also included Sarah Beran, National Security Council senior director for China and Taiwan Affairs.

According to the State Department, the two sides had a “candid, substantive, and productive discussion” on bilateral, global, and regional issues, including Russia’s war against Ukraine and cross-Strait issues.

Three top U.S. diplomats—Mr. Blinken, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, and climate envoy John Kerry—have visited Beijing in recent months for meetings with Chinese officials to improve relations with China.

Qin’s Disappearance Remains Mystery

The reason behind Mr. Qin’s absence remains unclear. Wang Wenbin, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, had previously attributed it to “health reasons.”

At the Aspen Security Forum on July 22, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about speculation of Mr. Qin’s whereabouts, to which he replied, “We don’t know; we genuinely don’t know.”

Mr. Sullivan mentioned that Mr. Blinken was expected to meet with Mr. Qin at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia, but instead met with Mr. Wang.

Hong Kong and Taiwan media reports suggested that the reason for his absence may be an extramarital affair with Chinese television anchor Fu Xiaotian. However, political analysts dismissed that, saying extramarital relationships are often used as a pretext for CCP elites to remove opponents.

Yuan Hongbin, a veteran China politics analyst based in Australia, said he believes that Mr. Qin’s sudden departure is the result of political infighting.

“It was Wang Yi who wanted to remove Qin Gang, because Qin had sidelined [Foreign Ministry spokesperson] Zhao Lijian and other allies of Wang since he took office,” Mr. Yuan told The Epoch Times on July 25.

Dorothy Li contributed to this report.