Qin Gang, China’s ambassador to US and a long-time Xi loyalist, poised to lead foreign ministry
- Promotion to Central Committee after 20th party congress caps ascent to Beijing’s power circle marked by defiant tone in service of Chinese leader
- But during Qin’s time in Washington, bilateral relations failed to improve as senior diplomat made few inroads with policymakers, analysts say
Late last month, the Chinese embassy in Washington wrote a thundering note to a right-wing US senator accusing him of being “arrogant and despicable” and part of a “pernicious political agenda” leading the US down a “wrong and dangerous path”.
As Qin ascends to China’s powerful Central Committee, putting him in pole position as China’s next foreign minister, the encounter underscores Washington’s mixed regard for Qin and its perception that the one audience Qin has been inordinately concerned with is the Chinese president.
Should Qin become foreign minister, analysts said they did not expect to see much outward display of independent initiative given China’s system, his relatively limited experience and how beholden he is to Xi, based on his time in Washington.
“In my experience, you have two roles as a diplomat,” said Jeffrey Moon, president of China Moon Strategies and a former US consul general in Chengdu, who listed the roles as communicating the policies of one’s nation and working to improve relations with the host government.
“He’s been promoted because, like others, he is very faithful to Xi Jinping,” Moon said of Qin. “But on relations with the US, he has not moved things very far.”
