China removed its sometimes outspoken foreign minister on Tuesday and replaced him with his predecessor at an unusually scheduled meeting, a move that has fueled rumors about what might be going on with the nation’s Communist Party elite.

China has called on the United States to meet it halfway, saying that bilateral ties are at the lowest point since the start of diplomatic relations, according to an official Chinese account of talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Sunday.