A familiar face for the US as China's Wang returns as foreign minister
investing.comBy Michael Martina and David Brunnstrom
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — China's decision to reappoint its top diplomat Wang Yi as foreign minister one month after former rising star Qin Gang disappeared from public view means Washington will be dealing with a familiar face in its bid to steady relations with its main strategic rival.
But Wang's return to a post he held for most of the past decade is unlikely to alter the trajectory of a troubled bilateral relationship or dispel concerns about the opaque workings of President Xi Jinping's government.
The removal of Qin, reputedly a Xi protege, on Tuesday came barely half a year after he assumed the role. The 57-year-old former ambassador to the United States and Xi aide took over the ministry in December but has not been seen in public since June 25 when he met visiting diplomats in Beijing.
The ministry has said he was off work for health reasons but has given no details.
Wang, known in Washington for his sharp intellect and his sometimes aggressive defense of China's positions, has been a fixture in U.S.-China relations for years.
Washington-based analysts say Wang's return to the ministry should help China's foreign ministry resume normal operations after weeks of international speculation about Qin's fate.
But it is unlikely to yield any major improvement in tense U.S.-China relations, which have hit their lowest point in decades.
«None of this changes the structural reasons for friction in the relationship,» said Joseph Torigian, an expert on China's Communist leaders at American University in Washington.
China's embassy in Washington did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
At a briefing on Tuesday U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said it
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