China’s government removed Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Tuesday following the former U.S. ambassador’s mysterious disappearance from public view last month, state media reported.

The official Xinhua news agency said Mr. Qin was removed from the position for unspecified reasons following a meeting of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the Chinese Communist Party’s legislature.

In his place, Wang Yi, director of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Foreign Affairs Commission, who has been filling in for Mr. Qin during the absence, will be China’s foreign minister. Mr. Wang held the post from 2013 until December.

The removal of Mr. Qin is a stunning reversal for an official who enjoyed a meteoric rise within the communist system, first as a high-profile ambassador to Washington and then with his appointment as foreign minister in December.

His absence from public view was first announced by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which cited an unspecified illness.

Later reports said his absence was the result of a romantic affair with a reporter for the state-controlled Phoenix Television network.

Mr. Qin was an outspoken critic of the United States and had previously been seen as close to Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to a senior Biden administration official.

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said last week that the U.S. government had no information on Mr. Qin’s whereabouts.