Liu Jianchao, a senior Chinese diplomat long regarded as a potential candidate for foreign minister, was taken into custody for questioning after returning to Beijing in late July from an overseas working trip, The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 10, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the report, Liu — who is 61 — was removed by authorities shortly after his return. China’s State Council Information Office, which handles government media enquiries, and the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Liu has headed the Party organ responsible for managing ties with foreign political parties since his appointment in 2022. In that capacity he travelled to more than 20 countries and met officials from more than 160 nations.
His frequent travels — notably meetings in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken — had fuelled expectations that the former ambassador and ministry spokesman might be in line to become China’s next foreign minister.
Liu’s detention is the highest-level investigation involving a diplomat since the removal of former foreign minister Qin Gang in 2023, a close ally of President Xi Jinping, amid reports of an extramarital affair.
Born in Jilin province, Liu studied English at Beijing Foreign Studies University and later read international relations at Oxford before taking up his first post as a translator at the Foreign Ministry.
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