BEIJING: China has abruptly removed senior diplomat Sun Weidong from his position as vice foreign minister, according to an official announcement.
The Ministry of Human Resources stated on its website that Sun Weidong had been dismissed by China’s highest state authority. However, the statement did not provide any reason or details regarding the timing of his removal.
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According to the Chinese foreign ministry website, Sun’s last known public engagements took place on March 13, when he met ambassadors from Brunei and Malaysia. Two days earlier, he also held discussions with Pakistan’s ambassador in China on bilateral cooperation.
The sudden dismissal comes amid China’s continued anti-corruption drive, which has intensified in recent years. Authorities have investigated over one million corruption-related cases annually, leading to hundreds of thousands of disciplinary actions across different government levels.
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Official reports indicate that last year alone, China investigated more than 10 million cases of corruption and issued punishments to over 900,000 individuals. These included officials from provincial, departmental, district, and local levels, reflecting the broad scope of the crackdown.