China's foreign minister Qin Gang has been removed from office, state media reported, after not being seen in the public eye for a month.
"China's top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister... as it convened a session on Tuesday," state media outlet Xinhua said.
"Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister."
The report did not give a reason for Mr Qin's removal but said President Xi Jinping signed a presidential order to enact the decision.
Mr Qin, 57, had been seen as a confidant of Xi and many analysts attributed his recent fast rise through the diplomatic ranks to their relationship.
China has remained tight-lipped for weeks about the fate of Mr Qin, who has not been seen in public since 25 June when he met Russia's deputy foreign minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing.
His absence sparked a storm of speculation that he had been removed from office or was subject to an official investigation.
Mr Qin's duties had lately been taken on by China's top diplomat Mr Wang, who leads the ruling Communist Party's foreign policy and outranks Mr Qin in the government hierarchy.
Mr Qin had replaced Mr Wang as foreign minister in December last year.
He became one of China's youngest foreign ministers when he took up the post after a stint as envoy to the United States.
His ministry later said he was off work for unspecified health reasons.
