As China’s global prestige rises, so should the status of its foreign minister

Andrei Lungu says the relatively low ranking of China’s foreign minister, its voice on the world stage, doesn’t fit the nation’s role as a major power. The upcoming party congress is a chance to change that by promoting him to the Politburo

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Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi walks past the US and Chinese national flags as he prepares to meet US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 30. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:17am, 13 Oct 2017Updated: 1:43pm, 20 Oct 2017

After Barack Obama defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic Party primary and was then elected US president, he offered her the post of secretary of state. In Australia, Julia Gillard did the same once she unseated Kevin Rudd from the prime ministership in 2010: she named him foreign minister.

Throughout the world, the minister of foreign affairs is the second or third most important government position. This is natural, as this prestigious position links the nation and the outside world.

This was once true for China. The first foreign minister after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China was Zhou Enlai, who was also premier. His status enhanced his foreign minister position. Foreign officials negotiating with Zhou knew they were talking to an important politician who could influence policy debates in Beijing. His authority offered him more latitude to conduct negotiations abroad than a simple diplomat.

US president Richard Nixon raises a glass with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in February 1972, in Beijing. Photo: AFP

But after eight years, Zhou abandoned his foreign minister portfolio and China later decided to professionalise the position. The foreign minister might be one of the most powerful politicians in other countries, but not in China. There is no foreign minister among the seven members of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee. He isn’t even one of the 25 members of the Politburo. He is a member of the Central Committee, a body of 205 members. Maybe the foreign minister is China’s 26th most powerful official, or maybe 204th. Who can tell?

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Yet, he is the country’s voice on the world stage. The foreign minister represented China at the UN General Assembly this year, not President Xi Jinping or Premier Li Keqiang. Shouldn’t their replacement also come from the Politburo?