Former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public since last summer, is no longer a member of the Communist Party leadership, the party’s Central Committee announced in Beijing on Thursday.
Qin’s resignation from the top body had been accepted, the committee said after a four-day meeting. No further details were provided and the reasons behind Qin’s disappearance remain unclear.
Last summer, he failed to appear at official meetings and a few weeks later was removed from office, having served only seven months since his appointment by President Xi Jinping.
In February, Qin resigned as a delegate to the National People’s Congress.
Last year in late summer, Li Shangfu, then Minister of Defense, also disappeared from view, but the reason is now clear. At the end of June, he was expelled from the party due to serious corruption allegations.
The Central Committee reported Thursday that Shangfu has also been removed from its ranks.
High-ranking officials have repeatedly disappeared from public view in China in the past, often followed by reports that they are being investigated by the party’s disciplinary committee.
