Fu Xiaotian, a prominent Chinese television presenter, reportedly had a child through a surrogate mother in the US last year. Fu was in a relationship with the country’s former foreign minister, Qin Gang. Surrogacy is illegal in China, and the authorities are allegedly examining the relationship between Qin and Fu. While it is unclear if this relationship was directly related to Qin’s sudden dismissal as foreign minister, officials have not provided an explanation for his removal. Fu has since disappeared from social media and has been unreachable, leading to further mystery surrounding their situation.
Fu and Qin initially met in London in 2010 when Fu worked at Phoenix TV and Qin served as China’s chargé d’affaires in the UK. They developed a closer relationship nearly a decade later in Beijing. However, Qin’s wife accompanied him to the US, where he served as ambassador until this year when he became foreign minister. The relationship between Qin and Fu reportedly began to decline around the same time he limited contact with her, prompting Fu to drop hints about their relationship on social media. The last public comments made by Fu were in April when she boarded a private jet with her son to return to Beijing. The current whereabouts and well-being of Fu and her child remain unknown.
Email requests for comments from the Chinese foreign ministry and Phoenix TV have gone unanswered. Neither Fu nor Qin could be reached for comment.