TASS, July 22. /TASS/. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has postponed his visit to China to an unspecified date due to the absence of his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in the public space, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

According to the news agency’s information, Cleverly's visit was originally planned for the end of July. According to two sources, the absence of the Chinese foreign minister was the main reason for the postponement, while a third source indicated that this was one of the motives for the postponement.

The agency said that both sides now look for alternative dates for the senior officials to meet.

The British Foreign Office declined to comment.

Bloomberg noted that Qin Gang was last seen in public on June 25, when he held a meeting with officials from Russia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wan Wenbin said on July 11 that Qin Gang was not traveling to Jakarta for ASEAN events "due to health issues." Wang Yi replaced his colleague and went to the Indonesian capital for the meetings, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.