New ambassador hails warmer ties

Kong Xuanyou, vice-foreign minister and special representative of the Chinese government on Korean Peninsula affairs, will take up his new post as Chinese ambassador to Japan on Thursday.

Kong, 59, is a fluent Japanese speaker. During his 34-year diplomatic career, he has spent two-thirds of the time dealing with issues related to Japan.

He has served in Chinese diplomatic missions in Japan on three occasions, and was China's ambassador to Vietnam from 2011 to 2014.