Qin Gang, the Chinese Ambassador to the U.S., was named China’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs on Friday, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
Qin is replacing Wang Yi, who had been the country’s foreign minister since 2013. Both were elected in October to the 205-member Central Committee of the Communist Party, the country’s top decision-making body.
Qin, 56, was announced as China’s ambassador to Washington in July 2021.
A native of the northern municipality of Tianjin, Qin received his bachelor’s degree in international politics from the University of International Relations in Beijing. At the age of 52, he became the youngest vice minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to a 2018 statement from his alma mater.
Qin served in a variety of roles at the Chinese embassy in the U.K., before becoming director-general of the foreign ministry’s information department in 2011 and later head of its protocol department.
Contact reporter Kelly Wang (jingzhewang@caixin.com) and editor Michael Bellart (michaelbellart@caixin.com)
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