CHINA-US: STRAITS TIMES GIVES BACKGROUND OF QIN GANG, TIPPED TO BE CHINA'S NEW AMBASSADOR TO U.S.

China's social media has been reporting that 55-year old Qin Gang will replace Ambassador Cui Tiankai, who at 68 years old is now headed for retirement, as China's Ambassador to the U.S. Interesting is that this is Qin Gang's first appointment as Ambassador. Notably, Qin Gang at 52 years was also among the youngest to become a Vice Foreign Minister. Qin Gang is a fluent English speaker, having served in various positions in the Chinese embassy in London. He has been the Chinese Foreign Ministry's spokesman first from 2005 to 2010, and again as Director of the Ministry's Information Department between 2011 and 2014.  He had ample public exposure during these appointments with journalists reportedly remembering Qin Gang as constantly drinking from his cup while conducting the daily media briefings in his early days on the job. He later became one of the most sharp-tongued spokesmen at the Ministry earning the nickname, 'Zhan Gang', or Warrior Gang. A Communist Party insider defended Qin Gang's appointment to The Straits Times (May 3), saying that his brand of diplomacy is not necessarily an aggressive or even combative one. He said "He is not a wolf warrior. He will try to reason with the Americans, but he will not put up with demonisation." The Straits Times (May 3) quoted CCP sources as saying "Qin Gang is trusted by Xi. When he was director-general of the protocol department, he would sometimes meet Xi several times a week when there were foreign visitors." The source added "He is familiar with Xi's thinking as they spent a lot of time together. There is an opportunity to improve relations, although that cannot be achieved unilaterally." Qin Gang was Chief of Protocol from 2014 to 2018.





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