Xinhua News Agency reported on August 15, 2025, that Xi Jinping, in line with a decision by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, appointed and dismissed 20 ambassadors. Major reshuffles took place in Cameroon, Guinea, Cape Verde, Comoros, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Burkina Faso, Jamaica, Barbados, and Thailand.
Many of the dismissed ambassadors were longtime associates of Wang Yi. For instance, Han Zhiqiang, recalled from Thailand, served as chief of staff when Wang Yi was foreign minister (2016–2018). Yan Xiusheng, removed from Barbados, had been the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 2013 to 2018.
Several others were linked to Liu Jianchao, head of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) International Liaison Department (ILD). Foreign media reported that after Liu returned from visits to Singapore, South Africa, and Algeria on July 30, he was taken in for questioning in early August, and his residence was searched.
Those affected include Qian Naicheng, ambassador to Turkmenistan and longtime ILD official, and Zhang Jianwei, former ILD Middle East and North Africa Bureau director, who became China’s Ambassador to Kuwait in 2022 and was just now reassigned to Thailand. Also dismissed was Lu Shan, 54, ambassador to Burkina Faso and Liu Jianchao’s fellow Beijing Foreign Studies University alumnus, who had frequent ties with Liu at the Foreign Ministry.
Source: Epoch Times, August 15, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/25/8/15/n14574441.htm