Spokespersons at Foreign Ministry get new positions

Two key spokespersons for the Foreign Ministry - Lu Kang and Hua Chunying - have assumed new posts, which observers said is a move to bolster the country's lineup of senior diplomats.

Lu, after serving as director-general of the ministry's Information Department and as a ministry spokesman starting in 2015, becomes director-general of the ministry's Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, according to updated information on the ministry's website.

Hua, having served as a spokeswoman at the Foreign Ministry and deputy head of the Information Department since 2012, has been promoted to department director-general, the website says.