News: Former Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) official Xia Mingjiu (夏鸣九) was appointed Minister-Counselor of the Chinese embassy in Japan today, with a vice-ministerial ranking.
Quick Take: Traditionally, different Ministries under the State Council will assign officials to Chinese embassies as counselors to assist ambassadors with different areas of work, including culture, commerce, technology, education, etc. However, Xia’s appointment is quite intriguing, in that previous minister-counselors assigned from MST were only afforded a departmental ranking, while Xia’s ranking is specifically lifted upon his appointment. This may indicate a potential elevation of science and technology in China’s foreign affairs arena.