Qin Gang was China's foreign minister until his unexplained disappearance in June 2023. He served as foreign minister for seven months before being ousted. He was replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi. Officials have never explained the reason for his removal, though rumours abound about his private life. In 2024 he was also removed from the Communist Party's Central Committee.
Before becoming foreign minister, Qin succeeded Cui Tiankai as China's ambassador to Washington in 2021. His purge, along with that of Liu Jianchao, another top diplomat with good contacts in Washington, has made Chinese officials more reluctant to show initiative and paranoid about appearing weak in bilateral talks with America.
Tax reform means "Don't tax you, don't tax me, tax that fellow behind the tree."