Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao taken in for questioning, WSJ reports

Liu Jianchao, a elder Chinese diplomat wide seen arsenic a potential future foreign minister, has been taken distant by authorities for questioning, the Wall Street Journal reported connected Sunday.

Liu was taken distant aft returning to Beijing successful precocious July from an overseas work trip, WSJ reported, citing radical acquainted with the matter.

China's State Council Information Office, which handles media queries for the Chinese government, and the Chinese Communist Party International Liaison Department did not instantly respond to Reuters' petition for comment.

Liu, 61, has led the Communist Party's assemblage successful complaint of managing ties with overseas governmental parties. Since taking the relation successful 2022, helium has travelled to much than 20 nations and met officials from much than 160 countries.

Liu's engaged schedule, particularly his meetings with the erstwhile U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken successful Washington, stoked expectations that the erstwhile ambassador and ministry spokesperson was being groomed to beryllium the adjacent overseas minister.

His detention marks the highest-level probe involving a diplomat since China ousted its erstwhile overseas curate and President Xi Jinping's protégé, Qin Gang, successful 2023 pursuing rumours of an extramarital affair.

Born successful the northeastern state of Jilin, Liu majored successful English astatine Beijing Foreign Studies University and studied planetary relations astatine Oxford earlier taking up his archetypal station arsenic a translator with the overseas ministry.

He has served successful China's ngo to Britain and aboriginal arsenic ambassador to Indonesia and the Philippines.

During his clip arsenic ministry spokesman, helium was known for humorous off-the-cuff comments portion making a no-nonsense defence of China's interests.