Henry Kissinger, John Kerry, Janet Yellen. Not a few (former) American officials have visited China in recent weeks. And they have one thing in common: neither of them met Qin Gang, China’s foreign minister and former ambassador to the US. He has been off the radar for almost a month now.

And it has not gone unnoticed. Especially after EU foreign affairs head Josep Borrell’s visit to Beijing was suddenly canceled in early July. He should have met Qin there. And last week he was also absent from a summit of foreign ministers of Asean countries, an association of Southeast Asian countries. In his place was China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who was above Qin in the hierarchy.

When reporters asked why Qin was not there, a spokesman for his ministry said “health issues” was the reason. Last Monday – during Kerry’s visit to Beijing – the question came up again. Then suddenly the spokesperson said he had “no information” on the matter. Also striking: Chinese social media posts about Qin were recently censored.

Qin was last seen in public on June 25. Then he had a meeting with his Russian counterpart Andrey Rudenko. This happened a few days after the Wagner Uprising in Russia. The photo shows Qin smiling. After that he also held meetings with his colleagues from Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Career diplomat

But since that day, there has been no trace of President Xi Jinping’s confidants. And it was a shock for the 57-year-old career diplomat, who didn’t pass up an opportunity to profile himself. Since he started at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1992, he has also moved up quickly. Less than three years later, he was sent to Great Britain (until 1999). The places where he would go twice as many in subsequent years: from 2002 to 2005 and from 2010 to 2011.

It was when he became the spokesperson for the second time that he really started to stand out in the eyes of the general public. One of his most famous remarks was made in 2014. President Barack Obama said that America would continue to be a world leader for the next century. Qin then referred to the octopus Paul, who correctly predicted all the results of Germany and the Spanish-Dutch final during the 2010 Soccer World Cup. “It must be great to be the boss of the world. I don’t know if any octopus Paul can predict the future of international affairs. But China was the big boss for over a century.’ The comment went viral in China.

It was during a period when China was biting itself more. China’s economy slowed somewhat due to the 2008 economic crisis, but then quickly recovered. This while the consequences for the European and American economies simmered for a long time. The rapid economic recovery has also created a new awareness in China. An awareness in which nationalism becomes increasingly important.

Xi’s confidant

So Qin’s frankness was well received by Xi Jinping and his colleagues. He was promoted to ‘head of protocol’ and therefore responsible for organizing Xi’s foreign travels. This also allows him to spend a lot of time with the Chinese president. That might explain why Qin suddenly becomes China’s ambassador to America in 2021. An important post, as the growing tensions between the two world powers are evident. Less than a year later, he became foreign minister.

In that capacity he met Wopke Hoekstra to talk about Ukraine and ASML, but also Antony Blinken, for example. Little was expected of the meeting beforehand, but it brought relief after months of cold understanding. The reason was an alleged Chinese spy balloon that hovered over American airspace in February.

After the meeting between Blinken on one side and Qin and Xi on the other, the atmosphere became a lot friendlier. Xi wrote that “both sides have made progress” and that the world needs “stable relations” between the two countries. Still, not all is peace and quiet. During the meeting, Qin reiterated that, as a matter of urgency, America must “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs”, such as the Taiwan issue.

A week later, Qin met Rudenko, so there is no trace of Qin since that meeting. As is often the case in China, there were lots of rumors but little clarity. For example, there were rumors that he had been absent because of an extramarital affair. Or did he fall out of favor with Xi for some unknown reason.

Mysterious fate

In that case, a fate similar to Meng Hongwei’s might await him. The former head of Interpol mysteriously disappeared in September 2018 during a visit to China. Prior to that position he had for many years been a leader within the Communist Party. A week after his disappearance, Meng was found to have been arrested by Chinese authorities and charged with corruption. He ended up getting 13.5 years.

It can also end differently. For example, Xi Jinping himself disappeared for two weeks, just before he was elected party chairman in 2012. That disappearance has a lot in common with Qin’s disappearance. Similarly, ‘health issues’ were given as the reason for Xi’s absence. Xi’s name has been blocked on the Chinese internet to contain the rumours. And just like now, the appointment with the foreign official was suddenly cancelled.

After two weeks, Xi’s name suddenly reappeared. A political commentator later announced on behalf of his family that Xi was recovering well from his “health problems”. It’s never clear what really happened.

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