China appoints ambassador to US Qin Gang as new foreign minister

BEIJING - China has appointed its ambassador to the United States, Mr Qin Gang, as the new foreign minister, as the Asian nation shows signs of moving back to a lower-key diplomatic strategy after a growing backlash against its confrontational style. 

The move was announced on Friday evening by China National Radio, which said the decision was made at a meeting of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee.

Mr Qin replaces Mr Wang Yi, who is likely to take the Communist Party’s top foreign policy position.

Mr Qin, 56, is a trusted aide of President Xi Jinping.

He was promoted to the politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in October and was expected to play a bigger role in foreign policy.

Mr Qin had risen through various positions, including as the ministry’s spokesman and postings at the Chinese embassy in Britain.

He served as Mr Xi’s chief protocol officer between 2014 and 2018.

Following his appointment, Mr Qin will return to Beijing from Washington after 17 months as China’s 11th ambassador to the United States.

He was

sent to the US in July 2021,

and has walked a fine line between defending Beijing’s interests and displaying a softer side to Chinese diplomacy. 

During his year in Washington, the envoy has thrown out the first pitch at a St Louis Cardinals baseball game, taken a ride in a Tesla with billionaire Elon Musk, and most recently, shot free throws at a Washington Wizards basketball game.

As a Foreign Ministry spokesman, he had delivered some of China’s most moderate messages on hot topics.

He has said Beijing would have tried to stop Russia from invading Ukraine if it had known of the plan beforehand, and played down the risk of a war with Taiwan. 

Mr Qin’s appointment coincides with a push by Mr Xi to mend frayed ties with the US and its allies.

Mr Xi held his

first in-person summit with US President Joe Biden

during the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, and he also met with the leaders of top US partners, including Japan and Australia. 

Beijing’s more assertive foreign policy has contributed to a collapse in public support across the developed world during Mr Xi’s decade in power, with the share of people in the US

with unfavourable views of China rising to 82 per cent

in 2021. 

Mr Wang, who is 69, was named to the party’s 24-member politburo after

a recent twice-a-decade congress

wrapped up, even though he was older than the retirement age of 68.

Mr Wang is likely to helm foreign policy for the party after Mr Yang Jiechi retired from the politburo.

BLOOMBERG, REUTERS