Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has been appointed as a state councillor, in a consolidation of President Xi Jinping’s new foreign policy line-up as Beijing presents itself as a global leadership alternative to the United States. The move also completes the reshuffle of top diplomatic personnel at the start of Xi’s historic third term. Qin was appointed to the post along with four other members of the State Council , the central government’s executive branch. The promotions of Wu Zhenglong, Shen Yiqin, Li Shangfu and Wang Xiaohong, as well as Qin, were endorsed by the National People’s Congress (NPC) – China’s top legislative body – on Sunday, the penultimate day of its key annual session. Wu was also named secretary general of the State Council, while Shen – a former Communist Party chief of Guizhou province – became the highest-ranked woman in China with her promotion. Li Shangfu was earlier named as China’s defence minister and Wang also holds the post of public security minister. Qin, who had served as China’s ambassador to the US since July 2021, was named foreign minister just over two months ago. He succeeded Wang Yi, who was promoted last year to the Politburo – the power centre of China’s ruling Communist Party – and appointed as the country’s top diplomat after Yang Jiechi retired from the role. Qin’s latest elevation comes at a time when China is celebrating its role in the resumption of diplomatic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia after seven years of hostilities. The agreement, which followed four days of intensive secret talks in Beijing last week, has been held up as a major diplomatic win for China’s policy in the Middle East – long considered a sphere of US influence. The signing a three-way joint declaration following the Iran-Saudi talks was hosted by Wang Yi, who hailed the outcome as a success for the world and for peace . “As a reliable mediator that meant well, China has loyally faithfully carried out the duties of being a host,” Wang said after the agreement was sealed on Friday, according to the official Chinese readout. “We will continue to make constructive contributions to the proper handling of the hot topics in today’s world according to the wishes of other countries, and shoulder our responsibility as a major power in the world.” Alfred Wu, associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said the deal underpinned China’s desire to showcase its “ global leadership ”. “The deal definitely presents a message to show that China challenging a US-led global order after World War II, and fighting against the US will be the very core of Xi’s third term,” Wu said. Qin’s appointment as state councillor also comes at a time when both China and the US are increasingly clear-eyed about the scale and duration of their great power rivalry. China has ‘shattered’ Western modernisation myth: foreign minister In a rare move, Xi last week directly accused the US of leading other Western nations to hobble China’s development. “Western countries, led by the United States, have implemented all-round containment and suppression of China, which has brought unprecedented severe challenges to the country’s development,” Xi told a panel discussion on the sidelines of the “ two sessions ” – the concurrent annual meetings of the NPC and China’s top advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Both Qin and Wang Yi are attending the sessions in their respective roles. Wang Yong, a professor of international studies at Peking University, also said the deal marked a new policy direction China wanted to showcase to the world at the start of a new government term. “It is meaningful in a way that China would like to show its flexibility in breaking through the containment policy of the US, and still be able to push forward peace and the forming of a new global order,” Wang Yong said. He also noted that having the veteran Wang Yi stay on in the team of Xi’s top foreign policy officials boded well for “continuity of policy” and would make Beijing more confident moving forward. Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang tells US to ‘hit the brakes’ Qin’s promotion to state councillor is also seen to give him more leeway to advance his policies within China’s immense bureaucratic system. Under the system, state councillors are ranked below the premier and vice-premiers, but are more senior than other ministers. While decision-making power lies with the Politburo, state councillors lead the State Council, which manages provincial-level administrators and all ministries. His latest promotion makes Qin, 56, the youngest among those considered “leaders of party and state” – a Communist Party term commonly used to describe top leaders who hold national or vice-national administrative rank. While Qin’s rise to state councillor came as no surprise, especially following his selection as an NPC deputy, which is a prerequisite for the promotion, his quick rise to the higher echelons of power is still unusual. Qin, a vice-ministerial level cadre as US ambassador since July 2021, was made foreign minister on December 30 last year, two months after Xi had secured an unprecedented third term as Communist Party general secretary at its 20th national congress . His elevation from vice-minister to state councillor – a two-step promotion within months – comes amid a personnel reshuffle since the October party congress that has involved several appointments bucking tradition. Qin’s close relationship with Xi is believed to have played an important part in his progress. Qin served two stints as foreign ministry spokesman and chief protocol officer between 2014 and 2018, when he organised conferences and travel for Xi. Qin’s predecessor, Wang Yi, was foreign minister for five years before he rose to become state councillor in 2018. Wu at the National University of Singapore expects to see a “Wolf Warrior 2.0” approach from Xi’s top diplomats. This was made obvious at Qin’s first press briefing as foreign minister last week, he said. “I think all imagination and [speculation] that Qin would actually not be as hawkish as the other wolf warriors we have seen before can be gone now, given his approach at his first press conference,” Wu said. “But in the end, [individual] personalities don’t matter. I expect to see both Wang and Qin [become] more hawkish, which would be a demonstration of what Xi’s policies are.” Addressing reporters in Beijing on Tuesday, Qin blamed the US for a host of global problems and warned of catastrophic consequences if Washington failed to “hit the brakes” on worsening tensions with China.