Where Is China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang? | China In Focus

Xi Jinping's chief diplomat, mysteriously missing from the political scene for weeks. Rumors are rife over his vanishing act. Was it due to health concerns, extramarital affairs, or falling out of political favor? Taiwan reporting record number of Chinese warships circling the island. What's driving Beijing's military flex? A top American institute is under investigation about its partnership with China. Projects might share cutting-edge technologies in military use. An infamous Chinese fast fashion brand taken back to court for stealing designs. But this time, it's under a law for organized crime. What do you think? Let us know below. And subscribe if you haven't already. Welcome to China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Amid the diplomatic bustle in China's capital, one unusual thing has stood out. For three full weeks now, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gan, a close aide to Xi Jinping, has been missing from the public eye. Qin was last seen in Beijing on June 25th when he hosted officials from Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Russia. That followed the high-stakes meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Since then, Qin has dropped out of sight. Qin was also absent from this month's visits by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Climate Envoy John Kerry. Last week, China's top diplomat Wang Yi took Qin's place and attended a gathering of Southeast Asian member states in Indonesia. Beijing's Foreign Ministry explained that Qin Gan couldn't make the trip due to health reasons, but the statement was later left out of the briefing's official transcript. When asked again on Monday about Qin's prolonged absence, a spokesperson said there was no information to provide. Meanwhile, discussions about his disappearance have come under scrutiny. American scholar Phil Cunningham tweeted that in one of his commentaries, remarks about Qin's potential political disfavor were scrubbed in the South China Morning Post, a pro-Beijing newspaper based in Hong Kong. Analysts flagged the Chinese Communist Party's habitual secrecy and information opacity, calling it mind-boggling. But on the other hand, speculation is swirling. Hong Kong's pro-China newspaper Xinjiang Daily claimed that Qin vanished from the public eye because of a COVID-19 infection, while posts on social media linked Qin's disappearance to an extramarital affair. His alleged secret girlfriend, a Beijing-backed media anchor, was a suspected double agent. The woman recently gave birth to an illegitimate child with the surname Qin. Others suggested that Qin Gan was embroiled in the downfall of a senior military official whose son allegedly leaked CCP intel while studying in the US. That occurred during Qin's term as China's ambassador to the United States. Similar scenarios have occurred involving other CCP officials. It's been seen as part of Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. Most of them resurfaced later. Xi himself was out of the public eye for two weeks, shortly before he was named China's top leader in 2012. The world of fast fashion headed into the courtroom. Designers Christa Perry, Larissa Martinez, and Jay Barron are slapping Chinese brand Xi'an with a lawsuit, accusing the company of stealing their designs. The suit alleges Xi'an has grown rich by committing individual infringements over and over again, knowingly reproducing artwork from independent artists as part of its business model. But pinning down Xi'an on copyright violations will be no easy task, largely due to how the brand runs its operation. Unlike traditional retailers, experts liken Xi'an to a technology company. Instead of employing human designers to avoid copyright issues, the lawsuit says Xi'an automates that process, using algorithms to find and select small batches of designs that it predicts will quickly sell out. Plus, Xi'an isn't just a single entity. It functions as a mass of smaller operations, many of which have short lifespans and are said to be quickly replaced. That makes it hard to pin down who's to blame for any alleged design theft. To handle that, here's where the case gets interesting. The lawsuit was brought under a racketeering law which targets organized crime on top of intellectual property theft. The giant has come under fire from a number of copyright lawsuits already, so far skirting rulings and opting to settle some cases with others still pending. That's alongside other accusations ranging from environmental damage to using materials sourced from forced labor. Valued at roughly $66 billion, Xi'an says it takes all claims of infringement seriously and takes swift action when complaints are raised by design owners, adding it will vigorously defend itself from claims it deems are without merit. Record-breaking crowds of warships circling waters near Taiwan. The whopping 16 Chinese vessels approaching the island in a single day. That figure tops the previous high of 14 back in August. Standing as Beijing's reaction to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, analysts say the activity carries several implications, none of them positive for Taiwan or regional stability. Here are the details. China's military is serving up a show of force near Taiwan. Last week, 38 aircraft were detected around the island, followed by 33 on Thursday and 30 on Friday. During those three days, 73 Chinese aircraft either crossed the Taiwan Strait's median line, an unofficial barrier between the island and mainland China, or entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone. But what's driving the surge? Experts say the reason is threefold. First, intimidation. Aimed at wearing down the Taiwanese people's mental strength and ability to resist a possible takeover. Second, when Taiwan's military springs into action to respond, it takes a toll on defense systems and equipment. That creates a major maintenance headache and could even lead to a dip in Taiwan's defense readiness. Finally, the operations help Beijing prepare for the big moment, a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan. The Chinese regime claims Taiwan as its own territory, despite never having ruled the island. It has vowed to annex Taiwan by force if necessary. Chinese state media hailed the naval activity on Sunday, saying the record number of vessels demonstrated the Chinese military's ability to encircle the island. The increased military pressure also comes as Taiwan gears up for its presidential election in January. A top candidate already riled Beijing in recent days by announcing he'd stop by the US during a trip to Paraguay. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned China not to use the travel plan, quote, as a pretext for provocative actions. This is very routine, given the distances traveled, to have a transit point. Vice presidents from Taiwan have transited over the past couple of decades. Paraguay is the last country in South America to still hold official relations with Taiwan. The country's incoming president recently opened up on why it makes more sense for the country not to shift to Beijing. We would love to do more trade with PRC, but we are also looking to have the market of the US open. Having a closer collaboration with Taiwan put us closer on a path to develop an industrial sector that we will have it if we have a relation with China. Santiago Pena says his country has an agriculture-based economy and needs to move up in the value chain, adding that siding with Taiwan is the best choice for reaching that goal. UC Berkeley, a dream university for students around the world. Now the top American university is getting dragged into controversy over ties to China. US lawmakers are investigating the institute's partnership with several Chinese entities, warning the school could help China gain cutting-edge technology used in areas like economics, high-tech R&D, and even military development. Many of the school's sponsors hold deep connections with the Chinese regime, such as China's National University of Defense Technology, Chinese telecom firm Huawei, and drone maker DJI. Worth noting, many of these entities are facing sanctions from the US government over national security threats. In a letter from a US House committee to UC Berkeley last week, lawmakers questioned the school about its academic collaboration with a top Chinese university spanning almost 10 years. That joint research includes subjects like advanced semiconductors and imaging technology for drawing maps and developing self-driving cars. China's access to its faculty members was also outlined as a concern. The letter warned, these government-funded studies help US military development, calling it problematic if Beijing gets its hands on them. Though the school says that its research are published in academic journals for public viewing, meaning China would not get additional benefits. UC Berkeley has been asked to provide extensive information about the interactions with China by the end of this month. Back from her recent trip to Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated she's eager to work with China on areas of mutual interest, covering debt restructuring for poorer countries and other challenges. Here's what she said. There's much more work to do, but I believe this trip was an important start. I'm eager to build on the groundwork that we laid in Beijing to mobilize further action. Yellen spoke on Sunday ahead of the G20 meeting in India. She said her visit to China set up better footing for relations between the two world powers. Last week's visit served as a step forward in putting our relationship on a sure footing and establishing a resilient and productive channel of communication. Yellen also laid out the next steps for the World Bank and other multilateral development banks. As for the ongoing war in Ukraine, Yellen added that Washington will continue to cut off Russia's access to relevant weapons and technologies. An unusual new weapon popping up within a formal military unit. The Chinese military has seemingly adapted its arms lineup, with sharpened steel tubes becoming the newest tactic against Indian soldiers. A dispute over the nation's shared border has persisted for years, with both sides taking casualties during a 2020 skirmish. To avoid upgrading that conflict to a war, China and India are banned from using firearms in these incidents. Instead, troops wield more primitive weapons, steel pipes with sharpened tips. They're said to be lightweight and used in both defense and offense. A Chinese military media reported that the tubes are common among Chinese border troops and can allegedly be thrown like javelins. China ceding the throne as the world's most populous nation, with neighboring India pulling ahead. What brought about the epoch shift and how will it impact the economy? Experts weighed in. For over half a century, China boasted the world's largest population. That status is fading. According to Yuen Projections, India's population outnumbers China's by almost 3 million as of mid-year 2023. Last year, China saw its first population drop in decades, propelled by a steep fall in birth rates. As housing prices and the cost of living skyrocket, young adults say starting a family is just too expensive. Demographer Yi Fuxian named three challenges facing China's population crisis. Fewer children heralds a drain on domestic demand and labor, something China's economy is heavily dependent on. And experts say Beijing's lift on the infamous one-child policy came far too late. China's economic growth will continue to decline. By around 2031 to 2035, all of China's demographic figures will be worse than those of the U.S. China's economic growth will also start to be lower than the U.S. from the year 2031 to 2035. Aging poses another concern. An expert likened China's demographic structure to that of Japan in the mid-1990s. The island country is home to the oldest population in Asia. There are a lot of similarities between China today and Japan 25 years ago, in terms of the demographics, in terms of the asset bubble bursting. You could see China effectively stuck at the zero bound and see policy become impotent. Turning to India, the key to the country's population boom lies in fertility. On average, each Indian woman bears two children today, compared to the 1.2 in China and 1.6 in the U.S. Plus, India has the youngest population on the planet, with over 60% under age 35. Although wealth might be unevenly spread, a growing working-age population spurs rapid economic growth. The World Bank expects India to outpace all other major economies this year, at a growth rate of over 6%, against just 4.3% for China. Another big story to look out for, a startling revelation on the rise of organized crime in Europe. Does it have ties to communist China? An Italian investigation reveals a shocking outlaw alliance between China and overseas mafias. Stay tuned for an in-depth expose, diving into the secretive world of Chinese organized crime in Europe. That report and more, coming up tomorrow on China In Focus. That's all for today's China In Focus on YouTube. We're now sharing a shortened version of our program here, after being demonetized for two years. Here's what to look out for in our second half. A ticking time bomb in the 21st century. The soaring risk of all that war between China, the US and its allies. And Taiwan is at the heart of it all. Most talks have focused on the rising risks and what could ignite conflict. But exactly what kind of war could we be on the brink of? And how can the US ensure a victory? We sat down with Ross Babbage, non-resident senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington DC, and author of the book, The Next Major War. Can the US and its allies win against China? For details. Full episode is available on our partner platform, Epoch TV. To sign up, click the link down below. Thanks for watching China In Focus. I'm Tiffany Meyer. See you tomorrow.