WASHINGTON — China's decision to reappoint its top diplomat Wang Yi as foreign minister one month after former rising star Qin Gang disappeared from public view means Washington will be dealing with a familiar face in its bid to steady relations with its main strategic rival.
China's decision to reappoint its top diplomat Wang Yi as foreign minister one month after former rising star Qin Gang disappeared from public view means Washington will be dealing with a familiar face in its bid to steady relations with its main strategic rival.
Washington-based analysts say Mr Wang's return to the ministry should help China's foreign ministry resume normal operations after weeks of international speculation about Mr Qin's fate. "With a series of major international meetings coming up, Mr Xi defaulted to someone who has relationships with many of his foreign counterparts," said Mr Rorry Daniels, Managing Director of Asia Society Policy Institute."In times of uncertainty, China wants continuity and predictability in this position."
In the Chinese system, the top diplomat is not the foreign minister but rather the director of the Chinese Communist Party's foreign affairs commission, a role Wang will continue to hold. Even while Mr Qin was foreign minister, Mr Blinken had contacts with Mr Wang, though exchanges had been frosty at times, particularly after an alleged Chinese spy balloon crossed US airspace and was shot down earlier this year, prompting Mr Wang to scold Washington for its"hysterical" reaction.
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