Beijing: China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, who was active in diplomatic efforts to patch up with the US, is not seen in public for three weeks.
The disappearance of the high-profile leader has fueled doubts about political disfavour having put paid to his career.
Qin Gang, a former ambassador to Washington DC, was previously considered a protege of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, according to The Guardian.
When a Chinese leader is not seen not in public for a period of time, it naturally gives rise to speculations about their issues with the leadership.
China’s internal political activities largely remain a guessing game for western media; earlier when president Xi Jinping did not appear in public, there were speculations that there was a coup.
Xi however later appeared, rubbishing the media reports; however this time round Qin Gang’s disappearance gains importance after authorities cited health reasons.
Qin Gang was expected to play a key role in a string of high-level visits by US officials when he suddenly vanished.
The last time he was photographed attending an event was a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart in Beijing on 25 June.
The leader was not seen among Chinese officials in talks with the US Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, in early July.
Only last week Quin was replaced as head of Chinese delegation to visit Indonesia for the Asean summit.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin attributed Qin’s absence’ to health reasons” without giving details.
A search on Chinese social media Weibo for Qin ‘where is Qin Gang’ will not yield any message other than ‘ no results’, according to The Guardian.
Journalist and analyst Phil Cunningham accused the South China Morning Post (SCMP) of cutting five sentences about Qin in an article he contributed to the publication.
‘Qin Gang is missing. Not only is he missing from the news cycle in China, but he’s missing from my article!’ Cunningham tweeted.