The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国外交部; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國外交部; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó Wàijiāobù) is an executive agency responsible for foreign relations between the People's Republic of China and other countries in the world. The agency is led by the Foreign Minister. The current minister is Yang Jiechi. The agency has its headquarters in Chaoyang District, Beijing.

It is one of several ministries under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It is sometimes abbreviated or referred to as MFA.

The agency is responsible for formulating foreign policies, decisions, foreign affairs documents, and statements in regards to the PRC. It also negotiates and signs bilateral and multilateral foreign treaties and agreements. The agency also dispatches foreign affairs representatives to other countries.

It represents P. R. China's interest in United Nations conferences, inter-governmental meetings, and the activities of international organizations. MOFA advises the central government in formulating diplomatic strategies, guidelines, and policies.

A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government (prime minister or president).^{[citation needed]} It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in coalition governments. In some nations, such as India, the foreign minister is referred to as the Minister for External Affairs or, as in the case of Brazil and of the former Soviet Union, as the Minister of External Relations. In the United States the equivalent to the foreign ministry is called the Department of State, and the equivalent position is known as the Secretary of State.

A foreign minister's powers can vary from government to government. In a classic parliamentary system, a foreign minister can potentially exert significant influence in forming foreign policy but when the government is dominated by a strong prime minister the foreign minister may be limited to playing a more marginal or subsidiary role in determining policy. Similarly, the political powers invested in the foreign minister are often more limited in presidential governments with a strong executive. Since the end of World War II, it has been common for both the foreign minister and defense minister to be part of an inner cabinet (commonly known as a national security council) in order to coordinate defence and diplomatic policy. Although the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries saw many heads of government assume the foreign ministry, this practice has since become uncommon in most developed nations.

Yang Jiechi (born May 1950) is the current and the tenth Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China. He was promoted to China's top diplomatic post on April 27, 2007.

Yang was born in Shanghai in May 1950. He graduated from Shanghai Foreign Language School and attended the University of Bath and the London School of Economics from 1973 to 1975. He has a PhD in history.

He previously served as a diplomat in the United States, beginning as a Second Secretary in 1983 and later as Ambassador from 2001 to 2005, and as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for Latin America and Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

During his tenure as ambassador to the United States, Yang worked to ease the tensions between the two countries following the 2001 mid-air collision between a U.S. EP-3 spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet off the coast of Hainan Island in the South China Sea.

In April 2007, Yang replaced Li Zhaoxing, who had served as China's foreign minister since 2003, as the tenth foreign minister of China. As it is traditional for China's cabinet ministers to retire at the age of 65, Yang, who was 57 in 2007, is expected to hold China's top diplomatic post past 2012.