Minister of Foreign Affairs (China)

The minister of foreign affairs of the People's Republic of China is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and one of the country's top and most important State Council posts. Officially, the minister is nominated by the premier of the State Council, who is then approved by the National People's Congress or its Standing Committee and appointed by the president.

The minister usually is also a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a state councillor. The Minister is the second-highest ranking diplomat in China after the director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission. The current minister is Wang Yi, who concurrently serves as the director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission.

History

The post was initially established after the proclamation of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949 as the minister of foreign affairs of the Central People's Government, with Zhou Enlai being appointed as both the minister and the premier.Template:Sfn

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Important offices held during tenure	Premier	Template:Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Term
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Central People's Government
1	File:Cropped ZhouAndDeng.png	Zhou Enlai 周恩来 (1898–1976)	1 October 1949	28 September 1954	Template:Age in years and days	Premier of the State Council	Zhou Enlai
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
1	File:國共內戰時期周恩來.jpg	Zhou Enlai 周恩来 (1898–1976)	28 September 1954	11 February 1958	Template:Age in years and days	Premier of the State Council Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Vice Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party	Zhou Enlai
2	File:Chen Yi(communist).jpg	Marshal Chen Yi 陈毅 (1901–1972)	11 February 1958	6 January 1972	Template:Age in years and days	Vice Premier of the State Council Head of the Central Foreign Affairs Leading Group Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Vice Chairman of the CCP Central Military Commission
3	File:Ji Pengfei.jpg	Ji Pengfei 姬鹏飞 (1910–2000)	6 January 1972	18 November 1973	Template:Age in years and days	Head of the Party Core Group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
4	File:喬木.jpg	Qiao Guanhua 喬冠華 (1913–1983)	18 November 1973	2 December 1976	Template:Age in years and days		Zhou Enlai Hua Guofeng
5	File:Huang Hua (1978).jpg	Huang Hua 黄华 (1913–2010)	2 December 1976	19 November 1982	Template:Age in years and days	Vice Premier of the State Council State Councillor	Hua Guofeng Zhao Ziyang
6	File:Wu Xueqian.jpg	Wu Xueqian 吴学谦 (1921–2008)	19 November 1982	12 April 1988	Template:Age in years and days	Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Councillor Deputy Head of the Central Foreign Affairs Leading Group	Zhao Ziyang
7	File:Qian-Qichen.jpg	Qian Qichen 钱其琛 (1928–2017)	12 April 1988	18 March 1998	Template:Age in years and days	Vice Premier of the State Council State Councillor	Li Peng
8	File:Tang Jiaxuan 01.jpg	Tang Jiaxuan 唐家璇 (born 1938)	18 March 1998	17 March 2003	Template:Age in years and days	Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Zhu Rongji
9	File:Li Zhaoxing (2005).jpg	Li Zhaoxing 李肇星 (born 1940)	17 March 2003	27 April 2007	Template:Age in years and days		Wen Jiabao
10	File:Yang Jiechi Japan 2020.jpg	Yang Jiechi 杨洁篪 (born 1950)	27 April 2007	16 March 2013	Template:Age in years and days	State Councillor
11	File:Wang Yi Japan 2019.jpg	Wang Yi 王毅 (born 1953)	16 March 2013	30 December 2022	Template:Age in years and days	State Councillor Member of the CCP Politburo	Li Keqiang
12	File:Qin Gang (cropped).jpg	Qin Gang 秦刚 (born 1966)	30 December 2022	25 July 2023	Template:Age in years and days	Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Councillor
							Li Qiang
13	File:Wang Yi (2023) (cropped).jpg	Wang Yi 王毅 (born 1953)	25 July 2023	Incumbent	Template:Age in years and days	Member of the CCP Politburo Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission

Timeline

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bar:Chen
bar:Ji
bar:Qiao
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bar:Li
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bar:Qin
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bar:Zhou
 from: 01/10/1949 till: 11/02/1958 color:cpc text:"Zhou Enlai"
bar:Chen
 from: 11/02/1958 till: 01/04/1971 color:cpc text:"Chen Yi"
bar:Ji
 from: 01/04/1971 till: 18/11/1974 color:cpc text:"Ji Pengfei"
bar:Qiao
 from: 18/11/1974 till: 02/12/1976 color:cpc text:"Qiao Guanhua"
bar:Huang
 from: 02/12/1976 till: 19/11/1982 color:cpc text:"Huang Hua"
bar:Wu
 from: 19/11/1982 till: 12/04/1988 color:cpc text:"Wu Xueqian"
bar:Qian
 from: 12/04/1988 till: 18/03/1998 color:cpc text:"Qian Qichen"
bar:Tang
 from: 18/03/1998 till: 17/03/2003 color:cpc text:"Tang Jiaxuan"
bar:Li
 from: 17/03/2003 till: 27/04/2007 color:cpc text:"Li Zhaoxing"
bar:Yang
 from: 27/04/2007 till: 16/03/2013 color:cpc text:"Yang Jiechi"
bar:Wang1
 from: 16/03/2013 till: 30/12/2022 color:cpc text:"Wang Yi"
bar:Qin
 from: 30/12/2022 till: 25/07/2023 color:cpc text:"Qin Gang"
bar:Wang2
 from: 25/07/2023 till: $today color:cpc text:"Wang Yi"</timeline>