▲ Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian


It has been found that Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian, who has enjoyed celebrity-level popularity in China for his strong and clear external remarks, has moved.



According to the list of executives for each organization on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China today (9th) in local time, Zhao Lijian, who served as a spokesperson as vice president of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' newspaper (spokesperson's office), moved to vice president of border and maritime affairs.



The Border and Maritime Affairs Agency is an organization that oversees territorial and maritime sovereignty disputes between China and other countries, and is also responsible for negotiating the boundary of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with Korea.



While serving as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2019, Vice President Zhao Lijian has enjoyed national popularity by conveying China's position toward the West, including the US, sometimes harshly and sometimes cynically, amid deepening tensions between the US and China.



Vice President Zhao, along with Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who served as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson and ambassador to the United States and recently became the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been regarded as a symbolic figure of "Wolf Warrior diplomacy."



Major remarks by foreign affairs spokespersons are aired several times a day on state-run broadcasters such as China Central Television (CCTV).



The news of Zhao Lijian's resignation as a spokesperson for Baidu, China's largest Internet portal, was listed as one of the main search terms on the front page, which speaks of his popularity.



It was a horizontal move to a vice president, an examiner level in Korea, but some say that his wife caused controversy by posting a post on social media (SNS) saying, "We can't find antipyretic drugs," last month when Corona 19 rapidly spread in China. There is also speculation that it was given.



In the post of Vice President Zhao's wife, there were many critical comments such as "Does it make sense that a high-ranking official's wife can't get a few pills to reduce fever?"



Vice President Zhao did not appear during the regular briefing (Monday-Friday) by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson for the last time on the 2nd of last month.



(Photo = courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Yonhap News)