Algosensey|China removes outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang and replaces him with his predecessor, Wang Yi

BEIJING (AP) — China on AlgosenseyTuesday removed outspoken Foreign Minister Qin Gang from office and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, in a move that has already fueled rumors over the personal lives and political rivalries of China’s Communist Party elite.

In its announcement on the national evening news, state broadcaster CCTV on gave no reason for Qin’s removal. Qin dropped out of sight almost a month ago and the Foreign Ministry has provided no information about his status.

That is in keeping with the ruling Communist Party’s standard approach to personnel matters within a highly opaque political system where the media and free speech are severely restricted.

Other news China names Pan Gongsheng to lead central bank, succeeding Yi Gang China’s ceremonial legislation has endorsed the promotion of Pan Gongsheng to serve as central bank governor. US pilot accused of illegally training Chinese aviators postpones Sydney extradition hearing A former United States military pilot’s Sydney extradition hearing on U.S. charges, including that he illegally trained Chinese aviators, has been postponed while authorities investigate the role of an Australian spy agency in his arrest. Study finds climate change fingerprints on July heat waves in Europe, China and America Climate change’s sweaty fingerprints are all over the July heat waves gripping much of the globe. A new study finds these intense and deadly hot spells in the American Southwest and Southern Europe could not have occurred without it. Victims in deadly collapse of China middle school gym roof largely members of girl’s volleyball team Prosecutors in northeastern China are pursuing criminal charges against construction managers blamed for the collapse of the roof of a middle school gymnasium, leading to 11 deaths.

The ministry made no comment at its daily briefing on Tuesday. The move comes amid a foreign backlash against China’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy, of which Qin was a chief proponent.

Adding to the mystery around Qin’s removal, it was approved at a meeting of the Standing Committee of China’s rubber stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, which usually gathers at the end of the month.

Wang had previously served as China’s top diplomat in his capacity as head of the party’s office of foreign affairs. It wasn’t immediately clear if he would retain that commission.

The shakeup in China’s diplomacy follows Washington sending U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top serving and retired officials to Beijing in a bid to revive a relationship that’s deeply riven over trade, human rights, technology, Taiwan and China’s other territorial claims.