Exactly one month ago, on June 25, he last appeared in public. Since then, nothing has been known about Qin Gang, a confidant of President Xi Jinping and China’s foreign minister.

The duration of Qin’s absence is highly unusual and indicates serious health or political status problems.

Who is Qin Gang

Qin Gang, 57, a career diplomat and trusted adviser to Chinese leader Xi Jinping, was promoted to foreign minister in December after a brief stint as ambassador to the United States.

Qin graduated from the Beijing University of International Affairs, which trains intelligence officers and diplomats. The school is subordinate to state security, China’s powerful spy service.

As foreign minister, Qin criticized Washington when bilateral relations hit a new low after an alleged Chinese spy bullet was shot down over the US.

He also played a key role in subsequent efforts by the two sides to stabilize strained ties and restore contact, including during a meeting with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken during his visit to Beijing in mid-June.

Qin has become known as one of the regime’s “warrior wolves,” a term used to describe a generation of aggressive diplomats who have brought a new, antagonistic style to Chinese diplomacy in recent years. Endorsed and promoted by Xi himself, his name has been put forward to replace Wang Yi as the Chinese Communist Party’s top foreign policy official in the future.

Last public appearance

Qin Gang has not appeared in public since June 25, when he received Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Rudenko in Beijing.

Photo: Qin Gang welcomed Andrii Rudenko on June 25 (Handout / AFP / Profimedia)

But two weeks later, his absence from the ASEAN summit in Indonesia raised the first question marks. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited “health reasons”.

Talk of Qin’s absence appears to have been censored on Chinese social media platform Weibo.

“This is a topic that everyone pays attention to, but you can’t talk about it publicly. A balance must be found for the smooth functioning of current situations and the general public’s right to know what is going on,” Hu Xinjin, the influential ex-editor-in-chief of the Global Times tabloid and known as a stickler for government lines, wrote on Weibo.

Qin Gang’s absence has created a vacuum at the top of the Foreign Ministry. EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell’s visit to Beijing has been cancelled. The visit of British Foreign Minister James Cleverley was also postponed.

Qin’s sudden disappearance is “very upsetting”

It is not uncommon for prominent Chinese figures to suddenly disappear from the public eye, only to reappear later without a clear explanation. Even President Xi himself once disappeared for two weeks shortly before taking office in 2012.

But, according to analysts, Tsin’s situation is quite unusual due to his position and the time of his absence.

“As China’s foreign minister, he should make frequent appearances on the international stage, especially at a time when China’s diplomatic schedule is extremely busy,” Deng Yuwen, a former Communist Party newspaper editor who is now a US commentator, told DW.

However, many believe that whether or not Qin reappears “safely” doesn’t even matter, as this episode already speaks volumes about the current state of Xi’s reign.

Political commentator Wu Qiang told DW that Qin’s sudden death is “very upsetting” because it indicates Beijing is moving towards a “mystical and unpredictable” form of autocratic rule.