China foreign minister Wang Yi reveals priorities after being reinstated

Beijing, Jul 28 (EFE).- The new Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday he would work to “resolutely defend national sovereignty, security, development interests,” according to state-owned Global Times newspaper.

Wang’s statement, published in the foreign ministry website, comes days after he was reinstated as the country’s diplomatic head on Tuesday, replacing Qin Gang, who has been missing from public life for a month.

Wang spoke of China’s goal of “maintaining world peace and promoting common development” and making “new contributions to the cause of human development and progress.”

“China’s diplomacy will continue to pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, deepen and expand global partnerships, as well as defend the country’s sovereignty and development interests,” he underlined.

Wang held the position of foreign minister from 2013 to 2022 before being made the director of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Foreign Affairs Commission Office.

The removal of Qin, former Chinese ambassador to the United States, followed his blistering rise in December, when his firm and aggressive tone was awarded the position, kicking off months of frenetic activity with the country’s opening up after the end of the “zero Covid-19” policy.

The diplomat has not appeared in public since June 25, the day he met in Beijing with officials from Sri Lanka, Russia and Vietnam, and has since been absent from various diplomatic events, arousing all kinds of speculation about his whereabouts and situation. EFE

jco/sc