China’s former foreign minister, Qin Gang, who has not been seen in public since last summer, is no longer 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 following a four-day sitting. No further details were provided, and the reasons behind Qin’s disappearance remain unclear.
In summer last year, he failed to turn up for official engagements, and a few weeks later he was removed from his post after serving just seven months following his appointment by President Xi Jinping.
In February, Qin stepped down as delegate to the National People’s Congress.
In late summer last year, Li Shangfu, at the time defence minister, also disappeared from view, but the reasons have since become clear. At the end of June, he was kicked out of the party on account of serious corruption allegations.
The Central Committee said on Thursday that Shangfu had also been removed from its ranks.
High-ranking officials have repeatedly dropped from public view in China in the past. They are often reported subsequently to be under investigation by the party’s disciplinary committee.
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