China removes its outspoken foreign minister during a bumpy time in relations with the US

abcnews.go.com:

China has removed the country's sometimes outspoken foreign minister from office and replaced him with his predecessor

BEIJING — China removed its sometimes outspoken foreign minister on Tuesday and replaced him with his predecessor at an unusually scheduled meeting, a move that has fueled rumors about what might be going on with the nation's Communist Party elite.

The step to remove Qin Gang after less than a year and replace him with Wang Yi doesn’t appear to signal any significant change in the hard-edged foreign policy adopted in recent years by leader Xi Jinping, who oversees the world's second-largest economy — and a nation that is the primary U.S. rival for international influence. U.S. officials said as much about Qin's departure after learning of the move.

In its announcement on the national evening news, state broadcaster CCTV gave no reason for Qin’s removal. Within minutes, all mentions and photos of him had been removed from the Foreign Ministry’s website. However, he was still referred to on the central government’s main site as a Cabinet-level state councilor, a possible sign that his political career wasn’t entirely over.

He had disappeared from public view almost a month ago, and the Foreign Ministry has provided no information about his status. That is in keeping with the ruling Communist Party’s standard approach to personnel matters within a highly opaque political system where the media and free speech are severely restricted. The party rarely reveals its process or its way of thinking when it makes a move such as this.

The ministry made no comment at its daily briefing on Tuesday.

The move comes amid a foreign backlash against China's increasingly aggressive foreign policy, of which Qin was a