Latin America expert takes over as head of Chinese friendship association
- Veteran diplomat Yang Wanming is the new chief of the CPAFFC, whose mission is to expand friendly exchanges with other countries
- It has played a role in efforts to improve US ties and the appointment comes as China is seeking closer relations in Latin America
A seasoned Chinese diplomat with a focus on Latin America is the new chief of a semi-official body tasked with promoting people-to-people exchanges with other nations.
Yang Wanming, 59, was introduced as president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) at a gathering it hosted on Monday.
Yang has replaced Lin Songtian, a veteran diplomat and Africa expert who had been president of the association since 2020.
The CPAFFC is a semi-official association whose mission – to expand friendly exchanges between China and other countries – is also part of Beijing’s broader diplomatic strategy.
Yang’s appointment comes as Beijing is seeking closer economic and security ties with nations in Latin America such as Brazil, moves which have been met with suspicion and concern in Washington.
China is now Latin America’s second-largest trading partner after the United States, according to data released in June by the Council on Foreign Relations, a US think tank.
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Beijing has traditionally appointed public figures or diplomats well-versed in China’s foreign policy to head up the CPAFFC.
Yang’s predecessor Lin was previously the Chinese ambassador to Liberia, Malawi and South Africa. Li Xiaolin, the daughter of a former president, the late Li Xiannian, was CPAFFC chief before him and did a stint in the US embassy in the 1990s.
Yang has decades of experience in Latin American affairs. He was China’s ambassador to Brazil, Argentina and Chile in the 2010s and had previously worked at the foreign ministry’s Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs since the mid-2000s.
