By Amy Lv, Lewis Jackson and Melanie Burton

June 23 (Reuters) - Fortescue's FMG.AX president of China resigned earlier this month, just four months after taking over the position, the company confirmed on Tuesday.

The move has not previously been officially announced.

The Australian miner recruited Liu Qing, who was formerly with Boeing China, to lead Fortescue's external affairs in China, according to a company WeChat post in February.

Fortescue confirmed the departure of Liu, also known as Alvin Liu, in an e-mailed reply to Reuters after reports from sources that he had left.

"We thank him for his contribution and wish him all the best," said a Fortescue spokeswoman.

It was not immediately clear why Liu left Fortescue and the company did not answer questions about the reason.

Liu could not be reached for comment.

His departure comes as the world's fourth-largest iron ore supplier is in talks with China's state iron ore buyer on a new one-year term contract.