Envoy to Middle East covers a lot of ground

Gong Xiaosheng has visited seven countries on three overseas trips, traveling more than 41,000 kilometers in all - and that's just this year.

China's special envoy on the Middle East issue took up his post in September 2014 and said he is much busier now than when he was an ambassador.

The 63-year-old served as director of the Chinese Office in Palestine from 2003 to 2005, as well as ambassador to Jordan from 2006 to 2008 and ambassador to Turkey from 2008 to 2014.