BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th July, 2023) Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Tuesday she had no information on whether Foreign Minister Qin Gang would be replaced after his long absence.
"I have no information to provide," Mao told a daily briefing when asked if the Chinese Foreign Ministry planned to appoint a new minister amid a prolonged lack of public information about Qin.
She added that China's diplomatic activities were continuing as usual.
The 57-year-old minister was last seen in public on June 25, when he received Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko in Beijing for talks. He also met with Sri Lankan and Vietnamese foreign ministers.
Qin was noticeably absent from the ASEAN meeting of Southeast Asian foreign ministers in Jakarta this month. The foreign ministry cited his ill health. Qin's predecessor Wang Yi, director of the Chinese Central Foreign Affairs Office, went to the gathering instead.
