Top legislature appoints officials, reviews law

China's top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister and Pan Gongsheng as central bank governor, as it convened a session on Tuesday.

Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister he concurrently held; Yi Gang was removed from the post of governor of the People's Bank of China, according to a decision adopted at the fourth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).

President Xi Jinping signed a presidential order to effectuate the decision.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, presided over the session, which opened on Tuesday morning.

A draft amendment to the Criminal Law was reviewed at the session.

The amendment focuses on better implementing the Party Central Committee's principles and policies regarding the fight against corruption and the protection of private enterprises in accordance with the law.

It refines stipulations concerning the crime of offering bribes as well as corruption conducted by private enterprise personnel.

On Tuesday afternoon, Zhao presided over a meeting of the Council of Chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee before the closing meeting of the session.

The closing meeting, attended by 169 members of the NPC Standing Committee, approved the personnel appointments and removals.

Wang Yi, a 70-year-old veteran diplomat who served as the Chinese ambassador to Japan from 2004 to 2007, began his career in the foreign ministry in 1982. Besides working in the foreign ministry, Wang also served as director of the Taiwan Work Office of the CPC Central Committee, and minister of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council from 2008 to 2013.

Between 2013 and 2018, Wang served as the minister and deputy secretary of the CPC Committee of the foreign ministry. From 2018, he served as the State Councilor, member of the Leading CPC Members Group of the State Council, and foreign minister before Qin took up the position in 2022.

Qin was promoted to the vice minister of the Foreign Ministry in 2018 and three years later became Chinese ambassador to the US. He arrived in the US in July 2021 to take his post as Chinese ambassador.

He was appointed as Chinese foreign minister, according to a decision made by the 13th National People's Congress Standing Committee, on December 30, 2022.