Recently, China selected Beijing’s ambassador to Washington, Qin Gang, as the new foreign minister of the country as a replacement for Wang Yi who has held the position for nearly a decade. Prior to his departure, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Sunday, spoke to Qin over the phone about US-China ties and “maintaining open lines of communication”.
The 56-year-old, Qin, was appointed for the role, on December 30, and is said to be a trusted aide of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The decision was made by the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee on Friday, said a report by Global Times. Additionally, Qin will replace the 69-year-old Wang who will reportedly remain the state councillor in charge of diplomacy.
Following the conversation between Blinken and his incoming Chinese counterpart, the US official took to Twitter and said, “Spoke by phone this morning with incoming People’s Republic of China Foreign Minister Qin Gang as he departs Washington for his new role. We discussed the US-PRC relationship and maintaining open lines of communication.”
Notably, Qin’s 17-month stint as the Chinese ambassador to Washington has been marked by escalating tensions between the two countries on a range of issues from trade, to the ongoing “chip war”, and Taiwan. In response to Blinken, Qin also took to the microblogging platform and said, “I look forward to continuing close working relations with him for a better China-US relationship.”
Called @SecBlinken to say goodbye. I appreciate several candid, in-depth and constructive meetings with him during my tenure. I look forward to continuing close working relations with him for a better China-US relationship.
— Qin Gang 秦刚 (@AmbQinGang) January 1, 2023
The issue of Taiwan has also become a point of contention between the two countries with China claiming Taiwan as a breakaway province under Beijing’s rule and Taiwan identifying itself as distinct from the Chinese mainland with its own constitution and democratically-elected leaders.
Earlier this year, in his first one-on-one interview after assuming his post in Washington, Qin had also warned that the US could face “military conflict” with China over the status of Taiwan. “If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in a military conflict,” said Qin to NPR.
Qin about India-China relations
In an op-ed article titled, “How China Sees the World” written, on December 26, four days before he was named Beijing’s new foreign minister, Qin in reference to “border issues” with India said that the status quo is that both sides are “willing to ease the situation”.
“China’s development means a stronger force for peace, not a growing power poised to ‘break the status quo’, as some call it,” wrote the incoming foreign minister in the US magazine National Interest. He added, “As to the border issues between China and India, the status quo is that both sides are willing to ease the situation and jointly protect peace along their borders.”
Notably, the article was written weeks after a clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control in northeastern India’s Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang Sector on December 9.
Subsequently, in a statement, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theatre Command spokesman, said the Chinese troops “were obstructed by the Indian army who illegally crossed the Line (of Actual Control),” reported AFP.
On the other hand, Indian Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, addressing the parliament days after the incident said that China unilaterally attempted to change the status quo along the LAC, and it was Indian troops’ timely intervention which shunned away the Chinese PLA.
He went on to seemingly blame the US for changing the status quo in Taiwan and defended Beijing and said that tensions in the Taiwan Strait are not created by them, “breaking the status quo, but by ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists and external forces continually challenging the status quo of ‘one China’,” wrote Qin.
Similarly, he went on to blame Japan for “altering” the status quo in the South China Sea and wrote, “In the case of the East China Sea, it was Japan who attempted to ‘nationalize’ Diaoyu Dao ten years ago, altering the ‘status quo’’ between China and Japan of agreeing to put aside differences. In the South China Sea, the status quo is that regional countries are consulting on a code of conduct that will lead to meaningful and effective rules for the region.”
(With inputs from agencies)
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
