China's Wang Yi Remains as Chinese Foreign Minister

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (photo: Stuff NZ)
By Mei ManuelMarch 20th, 2018

On Monday, the Chinese government announced that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will remain as the country's foreign minister and at the same time, he is also now a state councillor.

Wang's appointment as a state councillor was originally reported by Reuters, citing various sources saying that he will be handling foreign affairs as a state councillor and remain as foreign minister at the same time.

The 64-year old has been the country's foreign minister since 2013 and had been the country's amabassador in Tokyo and the head of the Taiwan Affairs Office. As foreign minister, he had be easy to counter any criticisms towards China and had also spoken strongly about critical issues, such as the South China Sea dispute. 

As a state councillor, Wang will be assisting in improving China's diplomatic profile in the world stage as part of President Xi Jinping's vision to make China a key actor in international affairs.

Meanwhile, it is uncertain if former state councillor Yang Jiechi will be getting a new position although he is still in the Politburo. Sources previously stated that he may likely become the vice premier, but he was not in the shortlist.

Aside from Wang, newly appointed defense minister Wei Fenghe was also appointed as a state councillor.

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