Fu Xiaotian, 40, the former host of a flagship talk show on Hong Kong-based Chinese broadcaster Phoenix TV, was in a relationship with 57-year-old Qin, the FT reported, citing six people close to Fu and China’s foreign policy establishment. Fu had a child last year with the help of a surrogate mother in the US, according to one unnamed source cited in the FT report, which did not reveal the identity of the father.
Around the time of Qin’s appointment as foreign minister in December last year, he began to limit contact with Fu, the FT reported, citing two people familiar with the situation. One person close to Fu said it prompted her to drop hints about their relationship on social media, according to the report. Following Qin’s disappearance, Chinese social media users have scrutinized Fu’s posts on Weibo, a popular microblogging site, where she boasts more than a million followers.