Hong Kong Media: China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong Expected to Become Executive Deputy Director of National Security Office

HONG KONG (CNA reporter Zhang Qian) – China's State Council announced yesterday the removal of Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong from his post. According to reports, Sun Weidong will be transferred to serve as the Executive Deputy Director of the Central National Security Office, overseeing daily operations, and is expected to be arranged as a member of the CPC Central Committee at the 21st CPC National Congress.

Ming Pao reported today that Sun Weidong, nearly 60 years old, is unlikely to be dispatched as an ambassador again, and it is highly probable that he will be transferred to a party position.

It is pointed out that there are several party departments in China's foreign affairs system, including the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC (Wang Yi concurrently serves as director), the International Liaison Department of the CPC Central Committee (Liu Haixing serves as minister), and the relevant Office of the Central National Security Commission of the CPC. It is widely rumored that Sun Weidong will be transferred to the Central National Security Office to serve as the Executive Deputy Director, promoted to ministerial level.

The current Director of the Central National Security Office is concurrently held by Cai Qi, a member of the Political Bureau Standing Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.

According to reports, the former Executive Deputy Director of the Central National Security Office, Liu Haixing, also came from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sun Weidong has seven years of vice-ministerial experience, and his promotion is considered normal; if the news is true, he will be arranged as a Central Committee member at the 21st CPC National Congress next autumn.

Sun Weidong, a native of Jiangsu, served as Deputy Director of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador to Pakistan, Director of the Policy Planning Department, Ambassador to India in July 2019, and Vice Foreign Minister in November 2022.

According to unwritten rules, Chinese vice foreign ministers or vice-ministerial ambassadors will have their retirement age appropriately extended. For example, Ambassador to Japan Wu Jianghao is three years older than Sun Weidong and is still in office. (Edited by Chen Kai-yu) 1150415

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