China’s ‘Wolf Warrior’ Qin Gang removed amid love child rumours

China’s Foreign Minister has been replaced after weeks of speculation that he had an affair with a glamorous newsreader.

China’s Foreign Minister has been replaced following weeks of speculation about his disappearance from public view and rumours that he fathered a child with a glamorous newsreader.

Qin Gang has been removed from his post and replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi.

The Times reports that his mysterious disappearance triggered speculation online that he had fallen foul of the leadership due to an affair with well-known TV presenter Fu Xiaotin.

China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has been replaced by his predecessor. Picture: AFP

He has only been in his role since December, but he hasn’t been publicly seen since June 25 when he met with a Sri Lankan minister in Beijing.

The Chinese government has attributed his disappearance to “health reasons”.

Fu also disappeared from public view around the same time, according to The Times, and her baby son, Er-Kin, also hasn’t been seen.

She posted a photo of herself with the child last April as the pair left Los Angeles on a private jet.

TV presenter Fu Xiaotin tweeted a picture of herself with her son last April. Picture: Twitter

TV presenter Fu Xiaotin during her interview with Qin Gang in a screen grab from her Twitter page. Picture: Twitter

In the same post, the Cambridge University -educated presenter showed a screenshot from her interview with Gang on her show Talk with World Leaders.

Viewers highlighted the pair’s supposedly flirtatious behaviour, saying they deviated from their usual professional behaviour and they made more eye contact than usual.

Alfred Wu, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Singapore, told The Times the unexpected removal of Qin would increase foreign scepticism about China and its lack of transparency.

“It seems that China still has some problems within their system, but the priority is to remove Qin, as they need someone to help steer China’s foreign policy as it faces multiple international challenges,” he said.