The Chinese Communist Party is scheduled to hold its 20th Third Plenum in July, with frequent changes in diplomatic personnel leading up to the event. Experts believe that these personnel changes may not have much impact on addressing the diplomatic challenges faced by the CCP. The appointment of a new Foreign Minister at the Third Plenum and the handling of the former Foreign Minister Qin Gang are issues worth paying attention to.
The CCP’s foreign affairs system includes the Central Foreign Affairs Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United Front Work Department, the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, the Taiwan Affairs Office, the International Development Cooperation Agency, and the foreign affairs offices of local governments. This year has seen significant personnel changes within these institutions.
Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui has recently been appointed as Assistant Minister of the CCP Central Committee’s International Liaison Department (referred to as the United Front Work Department below). Last month, Ambassador to Indonesia Lu Kang was promoted to Deputy Minister of the United Front Work Department.
On March 14, former Deputy Minister of the United Front Work Department Guo Yezhou was appointed as Deputy Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office. On March 18, the new spokesperson Lin Jian made his official appearance.
Ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and Director of the Information Department Hua Chunying were both promoted to Deputy Foreign Ministers. Ambassador to Ethiopia Zhao Zhiyuan was transferred to become Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Assistant Minister Nong Rong moved to become Deputy Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, while another assistant Xu Feihong was appointed as Ambassador to India. The former Director of the Consular Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wu Xi, was promoted to Deputy Director of the Taiwan Affairs Office, and former Ambassador to the European Union Fu Cong was reassigned as the Ambassador to the United Nations. The former Ambassador to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, returned to China to become the Secretary-General of the Boao Forum for Asia. Wu Peng, Director of the African Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was appointed as Ambassador to South Africa.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin was confirmed in early June to be the next Ambassador to Cambodia. In the past month, several ambassadors have bid farewell to their posts abroad, including Ambassador to Switzerland Wang Shiting, Ambassador to Lesotho Lei Zhong, Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian, Ambassador to Malta Yu Dunhai, and Minister Counselor in Japan Yang Yu.
Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua was appointed as the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, former Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chen Weiqing was named Director of the West Asia and North Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the former director, Wang Da, was appointed as the Ambassador to Canada. The Ambassador to Iran was then taken over by the former Ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu.
Chinese expert Wang He told The Epoch Times on June 21 that the recent wave of diplomatic personnel changes is significant, but it may not be effective in addressing the overall diplomatic crisis faced by the CCP. These appointments are at the level of department heads and deputy ministers, having little impact on the overall diplomatic landscape.
“The problem now is that the CCP’s diplomatic strategy lacks breakthroughs and direction. Xi Jinping wants to promote ‘major country diplomacy,’ but in practice, it has been very passive. The most obvious example is the recent peace conference on Ukraine, where nearly 100 countries and organizations participated, but the CCP did not attend and even had a negative impact, leading to the public criticism of the CCP by the Ukrainian president. The CCP is facing issues in its entire diplomatic direction. This makes it difficult for the ambassadors in foreign countries to play their roles effectively.”
He believes that the changes in Chinese ambassadors to Middle Eastern countries are worth paying attention to. Saudi Arabia has significant investments in China, and Saudi Arabia previously had oil-dollar agreements, but now they are beginning to price in non-dollar terms.
“The Middle East is a powder keg, and the CCP is constantly stirring up trouble, covertly supporting Iran. If there are changes in the oil agreements between Saudi Arabia and the United States, it will have a profound impact on the international economy. The CCP is currently fishing in troubled waters and has put in a lot of effort in its diplomatic layout in the Middle East.”
Honorary Professor Ding Shufan of the International Affairs Institute at National Chengchi University in Taiwan expressed on June 20 to The Epoch Times that based on these changes in diplomatic personnel, the relationship between the CCP and “southern countries” seems to be strengthening.
However, Ding Shufan believes that in recent years, the CCP has bureaucratized some institutions that are supposed to be diplomatic think tanks through personnel adjustments. “Take the China Institute of International Studies, which is under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for example. The directors are all former ambassadors to small countries, which diminishes the importance of the institute and makes it bureaucratic.”
The current director of the China Institute of International Studies, Chen Bo, female, born in January 1970, graduated from the Foreign Affairs College, and joined the CCP Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992. In August 2023, she stepped down from her position as Ambassador to Serbia and assumed the role of director and party secretary of the China Institute of International Studies, as well as Secretary-General of the Xi Jinping Diplomatic Thought Research Center.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry is still lacking heads for the Consular Affairs Department and the African Department. Due to Hua Chunying’s promotion to Deputy Foreign Minister, she will also need to hand over her role as Director of the Information Department. The Hong Kong media “Ming Pao” commented that Hua Chunying is the only Deputy Foreign Minister without experience as an ambassador abroad. She currently oversees European affairs and may be appointed as Deputy Minister-level Ambassador to the European Union to enhance her resume.
Wang He told The Epoch Times that there is a possibility for the CCP to appoint Hua Chunying as the Ambassador to the European Union, as the CCP is also trying to court the European Union as a diplomatic focus. For example, when the EU placed restrictions on Chinese electric vehicles, the CCP’s response was relatively mild, indicating that the CCP has intentions toward the EU and wants to make some efforts to win their favor.
Last month, Ding Shufan told The Epoch Times that according to the promotion mechanism of the CCP, Hua Chunying’s promotion was not out of the ordinary. Unlike former ambassador Fu Ying, who served in several major countries, it seems that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs currently wants to have a female Deputy Minister, and “Hua Chunying seems to be used as a template.”
Former Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang was suddenly removed from his position last summer, with rumors of extramarital affairs and leaking of classified information surrounding his downfall, but these allegations cannot be confirmed by the public.
On the approaching first anniversary of Qin Gang’s last public appearance (June 25, 2023), the US media outlet “Politico” conducted a retrospective report questioning what had happened to Qin Gang. The CCP initially attributed Qin’s disappearance to health issues and then remained silent about his fate.
Wang He told The Epoch Times that the Qin Gang incident itself has unsettled the CCP’s diplomatic system, and he believes that there will be an explanation for the handling of Qin Gang at the Third Plenum.
During the CCP’s National People’s Congress sessions in March and subsequent Standing Committee meetings, there were speculations about appointing a new Foreign Minister, but no official announcement was made. The long-delayed 20th Third Plenum of the CCP is set to take place in July. Apart from economic issues, the question of personnel appointments is also drawing attention.
Ding Shufan stated that it remains to be seen whether a new Foreign Minister will be appointed at the Third Plenum. However, even if a new Minister is appointed, Wang Yi remains the key diplomat under Xi Jinping’s leadership.
Wang Yi was promoted from Minister of Foreign Affairs to Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office and became a member of the Political Bureau last year. After Qin Gang was dismissed in July, Wang Yi also took on the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Wang He said that as Xi Jinping is pushing for so-called major country diplomacy, the Foreign Minister’s role is crucial. With Wang Yi already 70 years old, there must be a potential successor for the position of Foreign Minister. It was previously thought that Liu Jianchao, Minister of the United Front Work Department, would take up the post, but the lack of changes suggests that Xi Jinping is hesitant about new candidates following the Qin Gang incident.
He believes that while there have been significant personnel changes within the diplomatic system, the appointment of a new Foreign Minister seems to be facing difficulties, indicating a lack of long-term planning within the authorities.
“Given Wang Yi’s age, he is most likely to retire at any time, and there should be a succession plan in place. However, this plan is currently not visible, indicating that the CCP’s leadership in the diplomatic system is poorly structured.”
In November last year, the magazine “China Discipline Inspection and Supervision” published an article by Zhang Jiwen, head of the discipline inspection and supervision team at the Central Foreign Affairs Office, criticizing the selection and appointment of foreign affairs system officials for favoritism, exclusion of dissidents, playing politics, interference based on relationships, unauthorized promotions, or transfers of officials.