China’s foreign minister Wang Yi to hold press conference after major political meet

BEIJING (AFP): China’s foreign minister will face questions from the media on Thursday, state media announced, as the country’s largest annual political gathering continues in Beijing.

Wang Yi, a veteran diplomat who has served as a top foreign policy official for over a decade, will be quizzed by Chinese and for-eign journalists on a range of topics likely to include major geopolitical flashpoints.

Earlier this week, China announced that Premier Li Qiang would not be holding a press conference at the end of the National People’s Congress meeting, breaking a decades-long tradition.

The “Two Sessions” — parallel meetings of China’s rubber-stamp parliament and political consultative body that kicked off in Beijing earlier this week — offer a rare glimpse into the strategy of the Communist Party-led government for the year ahead.

This year’s gathering is being closely watched for signals as to Chinese leaders’ confidence in current geopolitical conditions, as tensions persist across the Taiwan Strait, and Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its third year.

Wang replaced ex-foreign minister Qin Gang, who was abruptly removed from office last year and has not been seen in public since.