Exclusive | Chinese diplomats working overseas get rare pay rise, sources say

Officials working in foreign relations in China will not benefit from the pay increase, the sources said.

This is a substantial increase for Chinese officials and comes as government agencies at various levels seek to make deep budget cuts.

Deng Yuwen, former deputy editor-in-chief of Study Times, the official newspaper of the central Party schools, said the move could be aimed at trying to stabilize the diplomatic corps after Gang Qin was suddenly dismissed as foreign minister last year.

Qin has not been seen in public since June and was dismissed from his post in July, just six months after taking office.

His predecessor, Wang Yiresumed his role, a move in keeping with Beijing's tradition of parachuting in trusted members of its top decision-making body to guide the Communist Party through a political crisis.

Qin was stripped of his official titles, including state councilor, and state media reported that he had been stripped. resigned as a member of the National Legislative Assembly in February.

There has been no explanation from Beijing, sparking intense public speculation about Qin's disappearance.

According to Deng, the salary increase could be an effort to reassure diplomatic corps cadres about this and other difficult situations.

The change in leadership could raise some concerns among Chinese diplomats and being a diplomat is very demanding, especially in the current environment in China, he said.

Deng said that might make some people reconsider whether they want to stay in the diplomatic service.

In such situations, therefore, the best approach is to provide encouragement and support, he added.

Claus Soong, an analyst at the Berlin think tank Mercator Institute for China Studies, said wage increases were indeed very rare in an era of belt-tightening and economic headwinds.

The Chinese government does not release information on civil servants' pay scales, but they are known to be modest compared to those of other white-collar workers in the country's most developed cities. Chinese civil servants stationed abroad would also earn more than their colleagues in China.

Beijing has pushed governments at all levels to rein in spending, telling them to get used to tight budgets in recent years. The central government was also asked to tighten its belt when the Prime Minister Li Qiang submitted its annual work report in March.

As China struggles with a slow post-pandemic economic recovery, even wealthier provinces like Jiangsu and Fujian have cut salaries and benefits for their executives in recent months.

In this context, Soong said, leaders obviously believe that Chinese diplomats on overseas missions have a more important role to play and more requirements to fulfill.

They are more useful in current political situations, he said.

Soong said the diplomatic corps has become more important in Beijing's strategic direction, not only for U.S.-China relations, but also for relations with Europe and developing countries.

Beijing needs people to trust it, he added.

China is ahead of the United States in global diplomatic presence, but does that mean influence?

At a party meeting on foreign policy direction in December, President Xi Jinping urged diplomats and cadres to innovate, rally the overwhelming majority of the world, and maintain a fighting spirit.

He said China has new strategic opportunities and called on executives to increase the country's influence, appeal and power on the international stage.

Soong said the growing role of diplomacy in the country's overall strategic direction was reflected in the significant increase in this year's budget.

Why Xi's message to diplomats could lead to lingering tensions in China-US relations

For 2024, the diplomacy budget was set at around 194 billion yuan ($26.8 billion), an increase of around 23 percent from last year, according to the government's budget report.

This increase dwarfs that of defense spending, which increased by 7.2 percent compared to last year, as well as that of the general public budget, which increased by only 4 percent compared to 2023.

China's diplomatic budget has increased steadily in recent years, increasing by around 39% between 2019 and today. Last year, diplomatic spending exceeded the budget by 4 percent.

Overseas Chinese officials are also excluded from the measure announced last year to reduce staff levels by 5 percent in party and state organizations.

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