In a sign that China is strengthening its foreign affairs team, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been promoted to state councillor while retaining his current portfolio..
In a sign that China is strengthening its foreign affairs team, Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been promoted to state councillor while retaining his current portfolio.
His elevation to a position just below that of vice-premier comes just days after highly capable former anti-corruption czar Wang Qishan was named vice-president, likely with a brief involved in foreign policy matters.
Last October, outgoing state councillor Yang Jiechi, who is deputy head of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) policymaking Leading Group on Foreign Affairs, was promoted to the powerful 25-member Politburo of the party.
These moves to give heft to the foreign affairs apparatus come as China is playing a bigger role on the world stage and as its external environment is becoming more difficult, with the perception of China as a threat gaining ground again.
Mr Wang, 64, was appointed to his posts yesterday together with other members of the State Council, or Cabinet, at the annual session of the National People’s Congress, or Parliament. His appointment as state councillor was a recognition of his performance as foreign minister, said Associate Professor Li Mingjiang of the S.
