Xi Jinping appoints Qin Gang as Chinese foreign minister to replace Wang Yi

Beijing –

Chinese President Xi Jinping appointed Chinese Ambassador to the United States (US) Qin Gang as China’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs (Menlu). The 56-year-old will succeed Wang Yi, the face of Chinese diplomacy since 2013.

Qin has been Beijing’s top representative in Washington since last year, AFP reported on Saturday (12/31/22). He has been tasked with restoring relations between the world’s two largest economies.

Qin, from the northeastern city of Tianjin, has earned a reputation as a “wolf warrior,” a nickname given to Chinese diplomats who respond harshly to Western countries they consider hostile.

He said that in 2020 China’s image in the West had deteriorated because Europeans and Americans – especially the media – had never accepted China’s political system or its economic growth.

For your information, Qin was a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry for several years. Lui frequently dated President Xi Jinping before 2018 during his stint as head of the foreign ministry’s protocol department.

Qin also served as deputy foreign minister between 2018 and last year. Qin has previously presented a view of China as a country that had little to learn from the West and used its history as a casualty during the 19th century opium wars.

(fas/fas)