Xi’s forever purge claims another senior diplomat
Liu Jianchao was billed as China’s future foreign minister, but now he appears to be out in the cold
Liu Jianchao was being tipped as China’s future foreign minister. Now, he appears to have become another Communist Party victim of President Xi Jinping’s never-ending purge of the senior echelons of the diplomatic corps and the military officer class.
Last month, the 61-year-old diplomat was detained by Beijing authorities after returning from talks in Singapore, South Africa and Algeria, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Earlier, he had received a “warm reception” in the United States after meeting Antony Blinken, the former US secretary of state, in Washington. Rumors quickly circulated that he was being groomed to take over from Foreign Minister Wang Yi.
Liu has always been a high-flyer after graduating from the prestigious Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He went on to serve in China’s UK mission before becoming ambassador to Indonesia and then the Philippines.
“If true, Liu Jianchao’s downfall will lead to a further power vacuum at the top of China’s foreign affairs portfolio,” Wen-Ti Sung, a fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, told the Reuters news agency.
“It removes a frontrunner to succeed Wang Yi and deprives China of a potential next steward for China’s foreign policy,” Sung pointed out this week.
The biggest case in 2023 [involved] then Foreign Minister Qin Gang
The forever purge:
- Senior officials and People’s Liberation Army commanders, including former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and Admiral Miao Hua, have been ensnared in recent months.
- Last year, General Wei Fenghe was expelled from the Communist Party and charged with violating political discipline, disloyalty, and accepting bribes.
Delve deeper: These were considered to be allies of Xi, who had already removed a series of high-ranking PLA officers from the National People’s Congress.
Between the lines: They included General Li Yuchao, in charge of China’s arsenal of land-based ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles, as well as the nuclear umbrella.
Big picture: But the most high-profile case came in 2023 when Xi’s protégé and then Foreign Minister Qin Gang vanished amid rumors linked to the shadowy world of spies, and an illicit love affair.
Bottom line: “So what did Qin do? An affair, as is rumored, isn’t enough to lead to this kind of downfall in China. Health problems can [also] be ruled out,” Deputy Editor James Palmer speculated in the Foreign Policy China Brief newsletter at the time.
China Factor comment: Like Qin, Liu’s fate is uncertain as the Communist Party’s curtain of opacity descends on a state shrouded in secrecy and suspicion.