China's missing 'wolf warrior' foreign minister demoted to low-level publishing job: Report

In a dramatic turn of events, former Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang, who disappeared from the public eye in the summer of 2023 amid a flurry of wild rumors including claims of imprisonment and suicide, is indeed alive though his current position has been relegated to a significantly diminished role.

According to The Washington Post report, citing two former US officials, 58-year-old Qin has been formally reassigned — at least on paper — to a low-level position at World Affairs Press, a state-owned publishing house affiliated with the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The officials indicated that his current role reflects a substantial reduction from his previous high-profile position close to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The demotion which took place sometime in the spring, the former officials said is a “fall from grace” but also means “he’s off the hook.”

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“He’s not going to jail, but his career is over,” The Washington Post quoted one of the officials as saying.

According to the report, citing the official, Qin’s reassignment to a low-level position likely serves both as punishment and a cautionary tale.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on Qin’s current role and did not respond to inquiries about his new position, reported The Washington Post.

Dramatic rise

Qin’s rapid rise was remarkable. At 56, he was not only tapped as minister but also elevated to state councilor, a senior position that Wang Yi, Qin’s predecessor, did not achieve until his 60s, after five years as foreign minister.

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According to the report, citing Christopher K Johnson, former senior CIA China analyst, his swift rise sparked discontent among colleagues who saw him as bypassing others.

Qin, a Xi loyalist, built his reputation as head of protocol from 2014 to 2017, meticulously managing Xi’s international image. His promotional efforts included demanding a 2 am museum visit before Xi’s 2015 Belarus trip, and his wife, Lin Yan, befriended Xi’s wife, preparing mooncakes for her, according to The Washington Post report, citing sources.

Promoted to vice minister in 2018 and US ambassador in 2021, Qin became China’s youngest foreign minister since the 1950s. His swift rise reflects the aggressive “wolf warrior” diplomacy style, which gained Xi’s favor and marked a new generation of assertive Chinese diplomats.

“This guy was a wolf warrior before it was cool to be a wolf warrior,” Johnson was quoted as saying.

From Day 1 as foreign minister, Qin positioned himself as the chief enforcer of Xi Jinping’s diplomatic agenda, rather than a subordinate to Wang Yi, who had been promoted to director of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission and technically outranked him.

In his first major news conference in March 2023, Qin echoed Xi’s warnings of “containment” by Washington, making blunt remarks about an impending confrontation with the United States.

According to The Washington Post report, current and former US officials describe Qin as lacking the diplomatic finesse of his more experienced peers and struggling to shift out of “wolf warrior” mode.

A tense moment took place in August 2022 when Qin, then Beijing’s ambassador in Washington, dealt with the aftermath of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Despite Beijing’s objections, Pelosi completed her trip, leading to intensified meetings between senior Biden administration officials and Qin to prevent escalation. The US officials emphasised that Washington was not seeking confrontation but would respond to aggressive Chinese actions.

After Pelosi’s departure, China fired missiles into the waters around Taiwan, prompting a summons of Qin by the White House. In a tense exchange, one official recalled Qin making what seemed like a threat about China “erasing the median line,” an unofficial boundary in the Taiwan Strait. This statement alarmed officials, who viewed it as escalatory, reported The Washington Post.

Qin’s subsequent response was a “performative” tirade against Pelosi’s visit, the report quoted another official as saying.

“This is not the time for polemics,” the official quoted the then-White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell as saying. “It’s a moment for precision.”

Brief tenure

Qin’s tenure as foreign minister was brief. He disappeared from public view five months into the role, sparking rumors about his downfall. Officially dismissed in July after just 207 days, he was replaced by Wang Yi.

According to the report, the reason behind Qin’s ouster remains unclear, but a leading theory is that he had an extramarital affair with Chinese journalist Fu Xiaotian, resulting in a child born in the US. Analysts suggest Fu’s high-profile lifestyle and possible security risks may have played a role. Despite rumors that she might have passed secrets to a foreign intelligence service, these claims remain unproven, added the report.

Both Qin and Fu have been out of the public eye for over a year.

In July, the Communist Party dismissed several officials from the Central Committee, but Qin was only noted as having “resigned”. He remained a “comrade” — a member of the Communist Party — hinting at a milder punishment.

This was the first indication that Qin was still alive.

“The Politburo crediting Qin with the title of ‘comrade’ indicates that he has not been expelled from the party and could be reassigned to a new, lower-ranking role,” The Washington Post quoted Neil Thomas, an expert on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute, a think tank, as saying.

“In the Xi era, similar demotions have been meted out to leading cadres found guilty of relatively minor political infractions,” Thomas said.

Qin’s demotion mirrors the case of Shen Guofang, a former assistant foreign minister who was similarly reassigned to a publishing role in 2005 amid rumors of an affair. Shen continued to maintain a public profile, though he claimed ignorance about the reason for his reassignment.

World Affairs Press, where Qin is now reportedly employed, is a small bookstore in Beijing. Employees and a receptionist there said they were unaware of Qin’s current role, according to The Washington Post report.

A former translator for top Chinese leaders, Victor Gao, was recently pressed on Qin’s whereabouts in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“He is somewhere in China,” The Washington Post quoted Gao, who is now vice president of the Center for China and Globalization think tank, as saying. “You will never see him,” Gao added.

With inputs from agencies