Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who had been out of public view for a month, was sacked on Monday and replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi.
Qin has not appeared in public since last June 25, the day he met in the Chinese capital with officials from Sri Lanka, Russia and Vietnam, and, since then, he has been absent from various diplomatic events, arousing all kinds of speculation about his whereabouts and his situation.
Amid scandal rumors and political friction, Chinese state media have announced the removal without further explanation.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Assembly (ANP, Legislative) today approved in an unusual meeting the dismissal of Qin and the return of Wang Yi as chancellor, the state agency Xinhua collects in a brief statement.
The country's President and General Secretary of the Communist Party, Xi Jinping, signed an order to make the decision effective, the agency added.
Qin's removal follows his dizzying rise last December, when his firm and aggressive tone was awarded the country's chancellorship, kicking off months of frenetic activity with the country's opening up after the end of the 'zero covid' policy.
Qin then replaced Wang Yi with an international agenda marked by the War in Ukraine or the growing rivalry with Washington.
His last high-profile public appearance took place last June, when he met in Beijing with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, at a time when both parties were trying to recover communication to avoid further conflicts.
Qin had planned to attend the last ASEAN summit held in Indonesia, which, according to Beijing, he missed "for health reasons."
Nor did the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, and the White House Special Envoy for Climate Change, John Kerry, who was received by Wang Yi, participate in the meetings in Beijing.
At 69 years old, Wang returns to the position that he already held from 2013 until last December 31 after replacing Qin in several of the meetings that were held during the last month.
Wang Yi is part of the Politburo (the leadership of the formation, made up of 24 people), and was promoted last October to head of the Office of the Party's Foreign Affairs Commission, which made him the highest-ranking diplomat in China.
