China kept ambiguity prevailing on Wednesday about the reasons for dismissing its foreign minister, Chen Gang, from his post after his absence from public appearances, and began removing any mention of him from the ministry's website.

Chen Gang, 57, was relieved of his post on Tuesday, just 207 days after he was named foreign minister, and his predecessor Wang Yi was reinstated, according to state media.

The move came after the absence of Chen Gang, who is considered close to President Xi Jinping and one of his confidants, for a month from the public sphere, which raised speculation that he had lost his status or that he was under official investigation.

As of Wednesday morning, Chen Gang has become a trace of an eye on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as any reference to him has been deleted, and a search for his name or previous articles in which he was mentioned led to a page written on it "It does not exist or has been removed."

However, his name remained present until now on other sites such as the State Council, the Ministry of Commerce, and those belonging to the official media.

And the new Chinese news agency "Xinhua" reported on Tuesday that "China's highest legislative body voted in favor of appointing Wang Yi as foreign minister" on Monday, and that "Qin Gang was relieved" of the post.

The agency did not specify the reasons for the decision, noting that President Xi Jinping signed a presidential order to put it into effect.

Chen made his last public appearance on June 25 to welcome Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko in Beijing.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had previously confirmed that "health reasons" stood behind Chen's absence, before refraining at later stages from responding directly to questions about him.

As of Wednesday, state media did not provide any explanation for his dismissal.

However, an expert on Chinese affairs saw that his removal from official websites indicated that Chen Gang had rapidly lost his place in the ruling structure.

"I'm not sure that would have happened if he had been a well-respected comrade (in the Communist Party) who had contracted the disease," said US researcher Bill Bishop.

For his part, Neil Thomas of the American research institute, the Asia Society Policy Institute, spoke of indications that "it is likely that this is indeed a political purge."

Recently, several rumors circulated on the Internet about the reasons for Chen Gang's absence, some of which said that he was under official investigation due to an alleged relationship with a prominent TV presenter.

"People abroad are completely ignorant (of the reasons)," Hu-Fung Hong, a specialist in Chinese politics at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP.

And he considered that what happened "embodies how politics in China is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable, despite its appearance remaining calm."

Chen, who hails from the city of Tianjin (northeast), dealt with the Chinese president frequently by virtue of his previous position as head of the Protocol Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The confidence that Xi bestowed on him directly contributed to his promotion at the expense of more experienced candidates, first to China's ambassador to Washington and then to foreign minister.

Before his appointment as minister, he was China's ambassador to Washington, in a position during which he strengthened his public presence by participating in public events and frequent media appearances to explain his country's position on several issues.

He also previously held the position of spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was known for his harsh responses to embarrassing questions from journalists.
He spent years at the Chinese Embassy in London, and speaks fluent English.

In December 2022, he succeeded Chen Wang as foreign minister, a position the latter had held since 2013.

During his absence, many of Chen's responsibilities were handed over to Wang, a senior diplomat who was formally serving as director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the ruling Communist Party Central Committee and leading its foreign policy, above Chen in the government hierarchy.

However, Chen's absence left a void at the top of the Foreign Ministry and began to be reflected in the agenda of foreign visitors to Beijing.
Unexpectedly, a visit by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell was postponed this month.

Bloomberg also reported that British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly made a similar move due to Chen Gang's absence.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Wednesday that he expects to "work well" with Wang Yi, whom he has met twice in the past few weeks.

He added, "It is important for us to manage this relationship responsibly. This begins with diplomacy, and it begins with interaction, and I am ready to cooperate with my concerned Chinese counterpart, whoever it may be," noting that relieving Chen is a sovereign decision related to China.

"Qin Gang was ambassador to Washington. I got to know him when he was ambassador. I had constructive talks with him when he was foreign minister and I wish him success," he said.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning confirmed Monday that "China's diplomatic activities are moving forward steadily," despite the minister's absence at the time.