Beijing: China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang has not been seen in public for three weeks, sparking intense speculation in a country known for its political opaqueness, CNN reported.

Qin, 57, a career diplomat and trusted aide of Chinese leader Xi Jinping, was promoted to foreign minister in December, after a brief stint as ambassador to the United States.

Qin as foreign minister, delivered searing rebukes of Washington after relations plunged to a new low in the aftermath of a suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the US.

He has also played a key role in subsequent efforts by both sides to stabilize rocky ties and restore communication, including meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his visit to Beijing in mid-June.

The Chinese foreign minister has, however, not been seen in public since June 25, after he met with officials from Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Russia in Beijing.

Qin was in his last public appearance seen walking side by side with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko who flew to Beijing to meet with Chinese officials after a short-lived insurrection by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia.

A former editor of a Communist Party newspaper who now lives in the US, Deng Yuwen, said: “Given China’s status and influence in the world, it’s indeed very strange that its foreign minister has not appeared in public for more than 20 days.”

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman when asked about Qin’s prolonged absence at a press briefing on Monday, said she had “no information to provide,” adding that China’s diplomatic activities are being carried out as usual.

Qin’s absence was made all the more conspicuous by the flurry of diplomatic activity in the Chinese capital in recent weeks, including high-profile visits by senior US officials Janet Yellen and John Kerry, according to CNN.

Qin also failed to show up at an annual foreign ministers’ meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Indonesia last week. Instead, China’s top diplomat Wang Yi attended the gathering in his place.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry told a regular news briefing last Tuesday that Qin could not attend the ASEAN meeting “because of health reasons”.

But that response was missing from the briefing’s official transcript posted later on the ministry’s website. The Chinese Foreign Ministry often leaves out content it deems sensitive from the transcripts of its regular briefings.

As per CNN, the brief health reason cited by authorities has failed to quell a groundswell of largely unsubstantiated speculation as to why Qin has not been seen.