Last year, China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, suddenly disappeared. Qin was a rising star in Chinese politics and a protegé of China’s strongman leader, Xi Jinping. In the first episode of our three-part investigation, we chart Qin’s rise and begin to untangle the mystery of his disappearance. This series was originally published in October. Further Listening:- Episode 2: The Affair - Apple | Spotify - Episode 3: The Downfall - Apple | Spotify We'll be back with something new on January 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Full Episode
Hey, it's Ryan. We'll be back on Thursday with a new episode to start off 2025. But until then, we wanted to remind you of this series we made earlier this year. It's a story about the mysterious downfall of China's missing foreign minister. Kate and our reporting team take you through one of the most intriguing political mysteries to come out of China in years. I think you'll find it fascinating.
There are three episodes and they've all been linked in the show notes. I hope you'll give it a listen. Here's episode one.
The last day that Qin Gang, China's then foreign minister, was seen in public was on June 25th of last year. It was a hot, humid day in Beijing. And according to his official schedule, Qin spent some of that day carrying out his foreign minister duties as usual. Mostly, this meant meeting other foreign ministers.
We know from Qin Gang's official schedule that he met with Sri Lanka's foreign minister.
That's chief China correspondent Lingling Wei. Qin and the Sri Lankan foreign minister discussed China's Belt and Road Initiative. They shook hands and snapped a picture in front of their country's flags.
We know he met with the Vietnamese foreign minister and that they talked about the Vietnamese prime minister's visit to China.
Another handshake, another picture, in front of another set of flags.
And Qin Gang also met with a representative from Russia, one of China's key partners. Russia's deputy foreign minister, Andrei Rudenko, was in town that day.
A photo from the day shows Qin and Rudenko striding out of a building mid-conversation. Qin is tall with rimless glasses. He looks relaxed and confident. And he had reason to be. Qin was foreign minister, the country's top diplomat. He was a member of the upper echelon of the political elite, and he had the backing of China's powerful leader, Xi Jinping.
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