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The king is the director of the Central Foreign Affairs Office of the Chinese Communist Party. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Wang Yi, a member of the Central Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party, has been appointed as the head of the Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Office, the highest diplomatic position. Qin Gang, the ambassador to the United States, has been appointed as Wang’s successor, marking a new lineup in China’s diplomatic ranks.

According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 1st, Wang Yi published an article under the name of a member of the Central Political Bureau of the Communist Party and head of the Party’s Foreign Affairs Office in the first 2023 issue of Qiushi, the CCP’s theoretical journal, released that day.

In his article titled “With the aspiration for national rejuvenation and the destiny of humanity in our hearts, let us bravely advance on a new journey of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics,” he emphasized the need to do one’s best for summit diplomacy and core tasks, actively expand global partnership relations based on equality, openness, and cooperation, promote the construction of an open world economy, and resolutely safeguard national interests and the dignity of the nation.

Previously, Wang Yi was appointed as a member of the Central Political Bureau, ranked 24th in the CCP hierarchy, at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party last year. At that time, Yang Jiechi, the former head of the Foreign Affairs Office and a member of the Central Political Bureau, was expected to retire, and Wang Yi was anticipated to succeed him.

It was expected that Wang Yi would hand over the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs to his successor at the upcoming National People’s Congress in March. However, on the 30th of last month, Qin Gang, the ambassador to the United States, was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs (ministerial level), and Wang Yi was promoted to head of the Foreign Affairs Office.

Minister Wang Yi, born in 1953, graduated from Beijing Second Foreign Language Institute and began his public service career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1982. He is known as a “Japan expert,” having served as counselor and minister at the Chinese Embassy in Japan, director of the Asian Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and ambassador to Japan. At age 48, he was appointed the youngest-ever vice minister in the history of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After serving as head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, he has been active as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2013, during President Xi Jinping’s administration. Wang Yi broke the “seven up, eight down” convention, which mandates retirement from the Political Bureau at age 68 or older, to become China’s top diplomat.

In the lengthy article published in Qiushi on the day, Wang Yi stated, “2023 is the first year to fully implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress,” and added, “The diplomatic front must study and promote the spirit of the 20th Party Congress under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and closely unite around the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core.”

He also stated the need to do one’s best for summit diplomacy and core tasks, actively expand global partnership relations based on equality, openness, and cooperation, promote the construction of an open world economy, and resolutely safeguard national interests and the dignity of the nation.

Wang Yi emphasized, “On this new journey, the diplomatic front will take Xi Jinping’s diplomatic thought as its guide to continuously pioneer a new phase of major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics,” and “To comprehensively build a socialist modernized country and fully promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, let us create a proactive and favorable external environment.”