China removed its vice minister of foreign affairs, Sun Weidong, from his post, according to an official announcement by China’s ministry of human resources on Tuesday. The decision was made by the state council, the country’s top administrative body. However, no reason or timeline for the removal of the top diplomat was provided.As per records on the website of China’s ministry of foreign affairs, Sun Weidong’s last public engagement was meetings with the ambassadors of Brunei and Malaysia to China on March 13. Two days earlier, he held talks with Pakistan’s ambassador to China, Khalil Hashmi, to discuss bilateral cooperation, according to a post on Hashmi’s X account.The ministry’s brief statement also noted the removal of another senior official, An Lusheng, from his position as deputy director of the national railway administration. Both departures come amid continued scrutiny of China’s high-ranking officials, often signalling disciplinary measures or reshuffling within the government.While the authorities did not specify whether Sun is facing investigation or reassignment, the lack of detail has sparked speculation about possible disciplinary action. These dismissals come as part of Xi Jinping’s anticorruption campaign that has now been going on for more than a decade.
Who is Sun Weidong?
Sun Weidong is a senior Chinese diplomat who served as China’s ambassador to India from 2019 to 2022, a period marked by a sharp deterioration in bilateral ties. Notably, Weidong was also serving as China’s ambassador to India during the 2020 border clashes in the Galwan Valley, after which India banned 59 Chinese mobile apps and tightened scrutiny of Chinese investments.Sun drew attention for his remarks during the crisis, where he blamed India for instigating the clashes and said the responsibility to ease tensions did not rest with China, further straining relations.He continued as ambassador until October 2022. In his farewell address, Sun cautioned against viewing India-China ties through a Western geopolitical lens, warning that such an approach would push the two neighbours into seeing each other as rivals and threats.
Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign
Launched in late 2012, this campaign is described as one of the most extensive in the party’s history. The initiative was bolstered by the “eight regulations” implemented in December 2012 to cut extravagance. It targets both “tigers and flies,” meaning both the high and low rank officials, if they are accused of misconduct.In 2025 alone, China investigated more than one million corruption cases and disciplined over 938,000 individuals, according to data from the central commission for discipline inspection and the national supervisory commission. Among those disciplined were 69 provincial or ministerial-level officials, 4,155 bureau-level officers, 35,000 county-level figures and 125,000 township-level officials, the commission’s year-end report stated.Senior military officers have also been affected by Xi’s sweeping campaign, which continues to reshape the ranks of China’s government and armed forces.
