China Foreign Minister’s Mystery Absence Amid Rumours Of Affair

The mystery three-week absence of China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang, considered a rising star of Chinese politics, is fueling concerns over shrinking access to information in the world’s second-largest economy.

Qin’s absence comes on the heels of a rapid rise in elite Chinese politics that saw him serve for less than two years as US ambassador, before being elevated to the post of foreign minister in December. 

In that role, he’s kept a busy schedule. The 57-year-old’s longest previous absence was just eight days over the Lunar New Year Holiday, according to government records. 

Now, the former envoy hasn’t been seen in public since June 25, when he met with visiting officials from Sri Lanka, Russia, and Vietnam. Qin has since vanished from state media and comments about him have been excised from readouts of Foreign Ministry briefings.

His 23-day absence has seen Qin skip major diplomatic engagements, such as an international gathering of foreign ministers in Indonesia last week. 

On Monday, President Xi Jinping was joined by Qin’s predecessor Wang Yi and deputy foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu when he met former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing. A day later, US climate envoy John Kerry was received by Wang.

The vacuum of information around Qin’s status comes as China faces growing scrutiny over its lack of transparency. The world’s second-largest economy has limited access to corporate data, court documents, academic journals and raided expert networks serving businesses, hampering investors’ ability to assess the economy.