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The Wall Street Journal revealed that Chinese authorities have detained prominent Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao for questioning.

Liu (61) was seen as a potential candidate for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is one of the senior officials in the Chinese diplomatic corps, having contributed to the "anti-corruption campaign" as one of the leading anti-corruption fighters in the Communist Party.

According to the American newspaper, Liu was arrested after returning to Beijing from a business trip abroad in late July.

Liu's detention represents the highest level of known investigation involving a Chinese diplomat since Beijing ousted Qin Gang from the position of Foreign Minister in 2023, just seven months after he took office.

An internal party investigation at that time concluded that Qin "was involved in an extramarital relationship" that lasted throughout his tenure as ambassador to Washington.

Qin was succeeded in the position of Foreign Minister by his predecessor Wang Yi, who is the highest-ranking foreign policy official in the Communist Party and a member of the elite Politburo consisting of 24 members.

Qin resigned from the Central Committee of the Party last year but remained a party member. After Qin's dismissal, Liu was considered a strong candidate for the position of Foreign Minister due to his experience and seniority in the Chinese diplomatic apparatus.

Law enforcement officials in the party have ousted dozens of senior officials as part of the ongoing "disciplinary purges" launched by Xi, characterized by increased scrutiny of party and state employees due to national security concerns.

Since Xi came to power in 2012, party inspectors have punished more than 6.2 million individuals on charges including corruption, bureaucratic negligence, and leaking state secrets, according to the Wall Street Journal.

During a trip to Washington and New York in early 2024, Liu received praise for his engaging style in conveying messages about the need for stable U.S.-China relations.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Liu has spent most of his career in the diplomatic corps, holding prominent positions in party and state agencies that led Xi's anti-corruption campaign.

Liu rose to public prominence as a spokesperson for the ministry, a position he held during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

China appointed him as ambassador to the Philippines and Indonesia before promoting him to the position of Assistant Foreign Minister in 2013, after which Liu transitioned to the field of anti-corruption in 2015 when he was appointed head of the International Cooperation Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party.

In 2017, Liu helped lead a new government body for combating corruption known as the "Supervisory Committee" in Zhejiang Province, where he was appointed as the highest official responsible for enforcing discipline in the region. He returned to the diplomatic corps in 2018 when he became a senior official in the Central Foreign Affairs Commission of the Party, an agency led by Xi that directs China's diplomatic policy.

In 2022, the party appointed Liu as head of the International Department and then promoted him to full membership in its elite Central Committee.