China’s Foreign Minister, a tough-talking diplomat seen as something like a protégé of President Xi Jinping hasn’t been seen for three weeks. This fuels speculation that he may have disappeared during a crucial time for the relations between Beijing and Washington.

Qin Gang is 57 years old and one of China’s leading voices in the world. He was a former ambassador with the U.S., before Xi appointed him as foreign minister last December. Qin Gang, 57, was a pioneer of China’s “wolf-warrior diplomacy” and the aggressive rhetoric that characterized it.

Qin has missed a flurry high-profile events, including the visits of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this month and U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry.

It’s impossible to say why he was not seen because secrecy in China is part of its political system and very little is known about public figures, said Frans Paul van der Putten. He is a senior researcher with the Clingendael Institute.

Van der Putten said, “We know that Qin Gang should have a special moment, considering his knowledge and background of the West. There are so many high-level meetings taking place.” “But he’s not there.”

According to the website of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Qin was last seen in public in Beijing on 25th June, when he met with counterparts from Russia. Vietnam, and Sri Lanka.

On July 5, ten days later, China cancelled without explanation the meeting between Qin, and Josep Borrell who was due to visit China.

Qin’s absence was largely overlooked until last week when he had been scheduled to attend the ASEAN summit in Indonesia. Wang Wenbin from his ministry told a press conference two days prior that Qin was unable to attend the event due to “health reasons.”

The online transcript for the briefing of the Ministry omitted this quote reported by Reuters. The ministry has not responded to subsequent attempts to inquire about Qin’s location at its daily briefings. It was also removed from the written record.

Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said on Monday that he had no information on the question. This was according to a video livestreamed on CTI TV’s YouTube channel.

Mao replied to a Western journalist who had repeatedly inquired about Qin’s whereabouts: “I’m not familiar with the case that you’ve mentioned.” She told another that China’s diplomatic activity was being conducted as usual.

Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the U.S. who spoke on Wednesday at the Aspen Security Forum, didn’t shed any light on Qin.

The Chinese ambassador declined to provide any further details when asked if Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, who is currently visiting Beijing, has met Qin.

The ambassador warned the U.S. not to allow Taiwan’s Vice President, Lai Ching Te, to stop in the U.S. before he heads for Paraguay, next month.

The ambassador stated that “a priority for us is stopping [Taiwan vice president Lai] visiting the United States. It’s like a rhino charging towards us.”

Internationally, mainstream media and social media have filled the vacuum of information on Qin with speculations and armchair theories. However, few of these seem to be based on confirmed facts.

Qin’s popularity is well known both in China and internationally. He is not only the foreign minister but also a State Councilor, which is a senior official in the State Council. The State Council is the executive body for the Chinese Communist Party.

He was China’s Ambassador to the U.S. until December and before that he served as a sharply-tongued spokeswoman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry. According to the Centre for China Analysis and Strategy in New Delhi, this earned him the nickname of “Zhan Gang”, meaning “Warrior Gang”.

Van der Putten, a China expert based in the Netherlands, said: “He is outspoken and has made statements that are extremely nationalistic. He defends China’s interest while criticizing Western approaches.” “But he is a serious diplomat, and his performance has more to it than being a wolf-warrior.”

In his relatively short time as Foreign Minister, U.S.-China Relations have plunged to new lows, and then partly recovered: First, over the visit of then-House speaker Nancy Pelosi in August to Taiwan, a sovereign island that China claims to be its own, then, when the U.S. said it shot down a Chinese spy ballon flying over the American continent, in February.

According to a State Department report at the time, there has been a thawing of relations in recent months, as Yellen and Kerry made high-level trips, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Qin, inviting him to the U.S.

According to international human rights organizations, such unexplained disappearances are not unusual in China. The country has a police and justice system that is opaque and severely restricts the freedom of speech, among other rights.

Meng Hongwei was China’s vice-minister of public safety and the president of Interpol. He disappeared in 2018 while returning to China from Europe, Interpol’s base. Later, he was accused of taking bribes. He was sentenced to over 13 years of prison as part of Xi’s sweeping crackdown against corruption.

Jack Ma, a Chinese tech billionaire who criticised China’s regulatory system in early 2021 made his first appearance public after three months of making critical comments.

China has in the past criticized Western democracies as too unpredictable and changeable compared to its own communist system. Van der Putten believes that the uncertainty surrounding Qin’s fate is having an effect on the West’s relationship with China in the short term, at least from a tone perspective.

He added, “This should be an important time for Qin.” “To be present in the office, but absent is very noticeable.”