Liu Haixing takes over Communist Party of China’s international department

BEIJING - The Communist Party of China (CPC) has handed its foreign relations arm to Mr Liu Haixing, a low-key career diplomat, who has replaced a predecessor reportedly under investigation.

The party’s International Department (CPCID) updated its website to name Mr Liu as its minister, a media outlet run by the Beijing Communist Youth League reported on Sept 30. 

He replaces Mr Liu Jianchao, an urbane diplomat known for his charm with foreign counterparts, who has not been seen in public since late July and was reportedly detained shortly after returning from a trip to Africa.

The CPCID manages the party’s ties with foreign political parties and serves as the main channel of contact with other communist states like North Korea. Its work complements that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which handles state-to-state diplomacy, by giving the party a direct line to political parties abroad, including those that are not in power. 

Mr Liu Haixing, 62, joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985. Trained in French, he served at the translation desk in China’s diplomatic missions in France and at the United Nations, and later headed the ministry’s Department of European Affairs. In 2015, he rose to his highest position in the ministry as minister-assistant, a rank shy of vice-minister.

In 2018, after three decades in diplomacy, he moved to national security, becoming deputy director of the Office of the National Security Commission, which is chaired by President Xi Jinping.

He has stayed out of the limelight since taking on the national security appointment.

According to Hong Kong media, Mr Liu’s father, Mr Liu Shuqing, was also a career diplomat who once held ambassadorships in Poland and Norway. 

Mr Liu Haixing and Mr Liu Jianchao are not related.

Mr Liu Jianchao, 61, had been in the post since 2022, before

he was reportedly taken away by the authorities for questioning.

His high-profile working style was considered unusual for the position.

During his tenure, he travelled to more than 20 countries and met officials from over 160 nations. The former foreign ministry spokesman was known to speak off the cuff and candidly in English.  

His 2024 visit to Washington, where he met then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, fuelled speculation that he was being groomed as the next foreign minister.

Analysts say that although both Lius differ in working style, the personnel change is unlikely to alter the overall direction of the party’s foreign engagement.

“I don’t foresee any major shift in how the party engages the world,” Associate Professor Alfred Wu of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy told The Straits Times.

This is because the CPCID does not set, but only implements, the party’s foreign policy direction, he said.

He noted that the change comes after

the replacement of the foreign minister. Mr Qin Gang,

once seen as a rising star and, like Mr Liu Jianchao, a former foreign ministry spokesman, was disciplined for irregularities and replaced by Mr Wang Yi, a seasoned diplomat.

“This seems to suggest that the party prefers steady hands to star power,” said Prof Wu, adding: “It also signalled clearly that Mr Liu Jianchao is not coming back to politics.”