Former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gangwho was removed from office in July, maintained a extramarital affair while ambassador to the United Statesreported this Tuesday The Wall Street Journalciting people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Qin was cooperating with the investigation, which now focused on whether the affair or his conduct had endangered China’s national security.
Senior Chinese officials were informed that an internal Communist Party investigation had discovered that Qin initiated the affair during his tenure as China’s ambassador to the United States. Two sources told the newspaper that the affair had led to the birth of a son in the United States.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was asked about the article and stated: “On the appointment and dismissal of the Chinese foreign minister, the Chinese side has previously published information. and I am not aware of the other information you have mentioned.”
Qin was replaced as foreign minister in July by the veteran diplomat Wang Yiafter a mysterious absence from his duties for a month, when he had barely been in office for half a year.
He was China’s top envoy in Washington from July 2021 to January of this year.
Rise and fall
Originally from the northeastern city of Tianjin, Qin, 57, has spent his entire career in the Chinese diplomatic service.
He speaks fluent English, specialized in Western European affairs and was posted to Britain three times, most recently as a minister. During his terms as spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he became famous for his sharp responses to difficult questions from journalists.
Magazine The Diplomat He described him as “one of the first celebrities of the Chinese Foreign Ministry” for his memorable phrases, such as when he was asked his opinion about the album “Chinese Democracy” by the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, and he responded: “No. There are many people who like this type of music because it is too loud and noisy. Besides, you are a mature adult, right?”
But analysts say Qin’s real opportunity came when it entered Xi’s direct orbit as head of the protocol department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs between 2014 and 2018. That job involved organizing Xi’s trips abroad and accompanying the leader on them.
He was deputy foreign minister between 2018 and 2021, before becoming ambassador to the United States.
Qin’s rapid rise above more experienced candidates, first to ambassador to the US and then to number 2 in Chinese diplomacy, was attributed to the trust placed in him directly by Xi. “There is no clearer choice of captain in the current leadership than Qin’s,” he said. Financial Times Neil Thomas, from the American think tank Asia Society Policy Institute.
(With information from Reuters, AFP and EFE)
Source-www.infobae.com