China's former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, who was ousted from his position in July, had an extramarital affair while he was ambassador to the United States, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with a briefing.

The report said Qin was cooperating with the investigation, which was now focused on whether the affair or Qin's conduct had compromised China's national security.

Senior Chinese officials were told that an internal Communist Party investigation found Qin engaged in the affair throughout his tenure as China's ambassador to the United States, the report said. Two sources told the newspaper the affair had resulted in the birth of a child in the U.S.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters seeking comment on the WSJ report.

Qin was replaced by veteran diplomat Wang Yi in July as the foreign minister after a mysterious one-month absence from duties barely half a year into the job.

He was China's top envoy in Washington from July 2021 until January this year.