China has named Qin Gang, its ambassador to the United States and a trusted aide to President Xi Jinping, as its new foreign minister as Beijing and Washington seek to stabilize relations.
Qin, 56, replaces Wang Yi, who was foreign minister for the last decade. Wang, 69, was promoted to the Chinese Communist Party’s politburo in October and is expected to play a greater role in Chinese foreign policy.
In solving challenges common to all mankind, China’s diplomacy will offer “Chinese wisdom, Chinese initiatives and Chinese strength,” Qin said in his first remarks as foreign minister in a statement posted on his ministry’s website.
While Qin sounded upbeat regarding US-China relations during his relatively brief 17-month stint as ambassador to Washington – his predecessor held the post for eight years – his tenure coincided with deteriorating ties between the two superpowers.
Qin quickly rose through several posts at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including two stints as the ministry’s spokesman between 2006 and 2014 and as chief protocol officer between 2014 and 2018, overseeing many of Xi’s interactions with foreign leaders.
As a spokesperson, he stood out among his peers as one of the first Chinese diplomats to make scathing remarks in defense of China’s increasingly assertive foreign policy, which later became known as “warrior wolf” diplomacy.
But he also demonstrated a willingness to work with the United States, declaring upon his arrival in Washington in July 2021, following an unusually public acrimony between senior US and Chinese officials, that the relationship presented “great opportunity and potential.”
Xi and US President Joe Biden pledged more frequent communication during mid-November talks aimed at averting a new Cold War between their countries, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit China. in early 2023.
White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell said China wants stable relations with the United States in the near term as it grapples with domestic economic challenges and backtracks on its policies in Asia.
In an essay published in the US bimonthly magazine The National Interest this week, Qin gave an overview of China’s position on foreign policy and reiterated that China-US relations are not a “zero-sum game”, with one side winning. at the expense of the other.
Por Yew Lun Tian e Michael Martina
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