British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley postponed his Beijing visit indefinitely. The diplomat was supposed to visit the Chinese capital in late July, but his colleague, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, had not made a public appearance in several weeks, sources said. Bloomberg.
The fact that Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang remained out of the public eye for nearly a month contributed to delaying Cleverly’s previously expected visit to Beijing in late July.
Two Bloomberg sources said the “disappearance” of the Chinese minister was the main reason the visit was delayed. At the same time, a third source said the absence of the Chinese Foreign Minister was “just one of several factors” in the decision.
Now both sides are busy looking for alternative dates for senior officials to meet. The British Foreign Office declined to comment to the agency on the situation, and Bloomberg wrote that this is an example of how the minister’s “mysterious disappearance” “reflects in geopolitics”.
The British Foreign Secretary was about to visit China for the first time in over five years. In early June, Bloomberg reported that London was trying to re-establish relations with Beijing.
The “Disappearing” Minister
Qin Gang made his last public appearance on June 25. He then met with diplomats from Russia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
In early July, Chinese authorities postponed the visit of Josep Borrell, the European Union Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, scheduled for July 10. He had scheduled meetings with Qin Gang and other officials. The Chinese side did not explain why the Foreign Minister could not accept Borrell.
At the same time, the Politico newspaper WroteThere are “rumors” in Brussels about the health problems of the Chinese minister. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a briefing on July 7 that he had not “heard” of it.
The State Department is keeping quiet about the situation with Qin Gang and even removing references to his poor health from the minutes of the press conference. South China Morning Post.
Borrell said he plans to visit Beijing in the fall.
I hope that my visit to China, which has been postponed twice due to health reasons, will take place right after the summer months.”
On July 11, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the minister would not be traveling to Jakarta for the ASEAN forum “due to health issues”. Wang Yi went to the meeting instead.
The White House reported that they knew nothing about the reasons for Qin Gang’s disappearance. “We don’t know. Literally so,” US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in response to a question about what happened to the Chinese minister.
According to him, the head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry was scheduled to meet with Foreign Minister Anthony Blinken at the ASEAN forum, but the minister was replaced by Wang Yi.
Qin Gang is 57 years old. He heads the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China since the end of 2022.
Source: Gazeta
Emma Matthew is a political analyst for “Social Bites”. With a keen understanding of the inner workings of government and a passion for politics, she provides insightful and informative coverage of the latest political developments.