Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang elevated to State Councillor rank
The Hindu
Mr. Qin’s elevation to the rank of State Councillor will put him in line for his appointment as the Special Representative of the India-China boundary mechanism formed in 2003.
Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has been elevated to the rank of State Councillor, which will put him in line for his likely appointment for the post of China’s Special Representative for India-China boundary talks, a high-level mechanism to discuss the boundary issue and improvement of ties between the two countries.
The National People’s Congress (NPC), the Chinese Parliament, which is holding its annual session on Sunday endorsed Mr. Qin’s appointment as Foreign Minister and elevated him to the status of State Councillor, a high-ranking position within the State Council or the central cabinet, the executive organ of the Chinese government.
Mr. Qin, 56, was appointed as the Foreign Minister in December succeeding Wang Yi who was elected to the Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), a key policy body of the party in the once-in-a-five-year congress of the party in October last year.
Mr. Qin’s elevation to the rank of State Councillor will put him in line for his appointment as the Special Representative (SR) of the India-China boundary mechanism formed in 2003.
Over the years, it also emerged as a key avenue to discuss the state of relations between the two neighbours beset with a host of problems besides the boundary dispute and steps to improve the ties.
Mr. Qin, who was the former ambassador of China to the U.S. and a close confidant of President Xi Jinping, visited New Delhi early this month to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting during which he held talks with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Relations between China and India have virtually frozen ever since the eastern Ladakh military standoff between the two countries in May 2020.