Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Beijing appoints Asia envoy

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Tuesday, 12 March 2013 14:23 Mizzima News

Beijing has appointed Wang Yingfan as its first Special Envoy for Asian Affairs, and his top priority will be Myanmar, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Monday, according to a report in the China Daily quoting spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

Wang Yingfan, China's first Special Envoy for Asian Affairs, was appointed on Monday, March 11, 2013.

Chinese experts said that the Ministry established Myanmar as the envoy's priority because “there have been too many issues recently”, including the [Kachin] conflict and commercial problems, the report said.

Beijing has reportedly established three similar positions before: special envoys for Africa, the Middle East, and Korean Peninsula affairs.

According to China Daily, Wang was born in 1942 and spent many years in the ministry's Department of Asian Affairs. He was Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines in the late 1980s.

According to Wikipedia, Wang was also Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations from 2000 to 2003.

The announcement came as Chinese officials attended negotiations between a Myanmar government delegation and representatives of the Kachin Independence Organization in Ruili, on the Chinese side of the common border, on Monday.
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Full China Daily report: Envoy for Asia to prioritize Myanmar 'for now'

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