Qin Gang
秦刚
Qin Gang2019.jpg
Qin Gang in 2019
State Councilor of the People's Republic of China
Assumed office
12 March 2023
PremierLi Qiang
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Assumed office
30 December 2022
PremierLi Keqiang
Li Qiang
Preceded byWang Yi
Chinese Ambassador to the United States
In office
27 July 2021 – 5 January 2023
Preceded byCui Tiankai
Succeeded byTBA
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
7 September 2018 – 27 July 2021
MinisterWang Yi
Preceded byLi Baodong
Succeeded byDeng Li
Director of the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
2 January 2015 – 7 September 2018
Preceded byZhang Kunsheng
Succeeded byHong Lei
Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In office
December 2011 – January 2015
Preceded byMa Zhaoxu
Succeeded byLiu Jianchao
Personal details
BornMarch 1966 (age 56–57)
Tianjin, Hebei, China
(now Tianjin, China)
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1988–present)
Children1
Alma materUniversity of International Relations (LLB)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese秦刚
Traditional Chinese秦剛

Qin Gang (Chinese: 秦刚; pinyin: Qín Gāng; born March 1966) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who has is currently a State Councilor of the People's Republic of China and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, making him China's second highest ranked diplomat after Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member Wang Yi. He previously served as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2021 and most recently as Chinese Ambassador to the United States from 2021 to 2023.

Early life and education

Qin Gang was born in Tianjin in March 1966.[1]

Qin received a Bachelor of Laws with a major in international politics from the University of International Relations in 1988.[2][3]

Career

After his graduation from college, Qin worked as a staff member at the Beijing Service Bureau for Diplomatic Missions. In 1992, he entered China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as attaché and Third Secretary at the Department of West European Affairs. Later, he worked at the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom as Secretary and Counselor from 1995 to 2005, and worked at the Foreign Ministry Information Department as the Deputy Director-General and spokesman from 2005 to 2010.[1]

U.S. Ambassador to China Robert Burns meeting with Chinese Ambassador to the U.S Qin Gang, before Qin's departure to the U.S.
U.S. Ambassador to China Robert Burns meeting with Chinese Ambassador to the U.S Qin Gang, before Qin's departure to the U.S.

In September 2010, Qin was appointed as the Envoy of the People's Republic of China to the United Kingdom. In December 2011, he returned to Beijing to serve as the director general of the Foreign Ministry Information Department. From 2014 to 2017, Qin served as the Director General of the Foreign Ministry Protocol Department. He became Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China in 2017 and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China in September 2018.[4][5][6][7][1]

Ambassador to the United States

In July 2021, Qin became the 11th Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the United States, succeeding Cui Tiankai, pursuant to a National People's Congress Standing Committee decision.[8][9]

On September 22, 2021,[10] Qin advocated the CCP concept of whole-process people's democracy at a conference organized by U.S. think tanks the Carter Center and The George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, stating, "Isn't it obvious that both China's people-center philosophy and President Lincoln's 'of the people, by the people, for the people' are for the sake of the people? [...] Shall we understand China's socialist whole-process democracy as this: from the people, to the people, with the people, for the people?"[11]

In January 2022, in an interview with NPR, Qin called the Uyghur genocide "fabrications, lies and disinformation."[12]

In April 2022, a special question and answer (Q&A) session between the three taikonauts of Shenzhou 13 aboard the Tiangong space station and American students was held in the Chinese Embassy in the United States, Washington, D.C. Qin served as the official host of the event.[13]

In August 2022, Qin called the 2022 visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan a "farce" and a "total political provocation."[14]

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Qin was appointed the 12th Minister of Foreign Affairs of China on December 30, 2022,[15][16] and was removed from the post of Chinese ambassador to the United States of America on January 5, 2023.[17]

Personal life

Qin is married. He has one son.[2][18]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Biography of Ambassador Qin Gang — Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America". Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America. Archived from the original on 2022-08-19. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  2. ^ a b 京华时报 (2015-01-02). 外交部新闻司司长由刘建超兼任 秦刚任礼宾司司长 – 国际 – 人民网. People's Daily. Archived from the original on 2015-05-19. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  3. ^ moe.gov.cn (2020-03-03). 普通高等学校本科专业目录 (PDF). Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  4. ^ 秦刚 个性发言人出任驻英公使. Xinhua (in Chinese). 2010-10-20. Archived from the original on October 23, 2010.
  5. ^ 秦刚接替马朝旭出任外交部新闻司司长(图/简历). People's Daily (in Chinese). 2012. Archived from the original on 2014-12-27. Retrieved 2014-09-03.
  6. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Archived 2017-09-21 at the Wayback Machine, 2017-09-28.
  7. ^ 秦刚升任外交部副部长. People's Daily. Archived from the original on 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2018-09-08.
  8. ^ 驻美国大使秦刚抵美履新. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
  9. ^ Lahiri, Tripti; Timsit, Annabelle (2021-07-30). "Why China's new ambassador to the US is unlikely to go full "wolf warrior"". Quartz. Archived from the original on 2021-07-30.
  10. ^ "China's Whole-Process Democracy: From the people, To the peopleWith the people, For the people_Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America". us.china-embassy.gov.cn. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  11. ^ "Xi's U.S. Envoy Invokes Lincoln in Declaring China a Democracy". Bloomberg News. 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  12. ^ Inskeep, Steve (January 28, 2022). "China's ambassador to the U.S. warns of 'military conflict' over Taiwan". NPR. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
  13. ^ "Elon Musk featured in Chinese embassy event focused on space exploration". South China Morning Post. 10 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 July 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  14. ^ "China's 'Wolf Warrior' diplomacy looks set to continue under Xi Jinping". Radio Free Asia. 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  15. ^ Tian, Yew Lun; Martina, Michael (2022-12-30). "China promotes its U.S. envoy Qin Gang to foreign minister". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  16. ^ 秦刚任外交部部长_中华人民共和国外交部. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  17. ^ "Chinese president appoints new ambassadors-Xinhua". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  18. ^ 秦刚大使简历. china-embassy.org. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.

External links

Government offices Preceded byMa Zhaoxu Director of Foreign Ministry Information Department 2011–2015 Succeeded byLiu Jianchao Preceded byZhang Kunsheng Director of Foreign Ministry Protocol Department 2015–2018 Succeeded byHong Lei Preceded byLi Baodong Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs 2018–2021 Succeeded byDeng Li Preceded byWang Yi Minister of Foreign Affairs 2022–present Incumbent Diplomatic posts Preceded byCui Tiankai Ambassador of China to the United States 2021–2023 Vacant
14th State Council of the People's Republic of China
13th State Council of the People's Republic of China
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