
Wu Jianghao, Chinese assistant foreign minister, will soon replace Kong Xuanyou as ambassador to Japan, people familiar with the matter said Saturday.
Wu, 59, has long work experience in Japan, as is the case with Kong, 63. The appointment of Wu is apparently aimed at making relations between Tokyo and Beijing stable.
A native of Hunan Province, Wu worked at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo from 1993 to 1998 and from 2002 to 2008. He assumed the current position in 2020, after serving in such posts as ambassador to Sri Lanka and director-general of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian affairs bureau.
Kong, who became ambassador to Japan in 2019, was a coordinator for a state visit to Japan by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The trip, initially scheduled for 2020, has been postponed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
JIJI Prress