China appoints trade expert as new ambassador to Pakistan to help drive infrastructure development plan

Nong Rong has no experience as a diplomat but analyst says he is just the man to revitalise the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

Former head of the ethnic and religious affairs commission in Guangxi can help ‘strengthen economic cooperation’, observer says

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Nong Rong has been named as China’s new ambassador to Pakistan. Photo: Handout

Published: 8:00pm, 13 Sep 2020Updated: 10:18pm, 13 Sep 2020

China has appointed a trade specialist as its new ambassador to Pakistan in an apparent bid to breathe new life into its multibillion dollar infrastructure development partnership with its western neighbour.

Despite having no formal experience as a diplomat, Nong Rong – the Communist Party secretary of the ethnic and religious affairs commission in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region – was named by the foreign ministry on Friday as the man to replace incumbent Yao Jing.

“Although Nong is not trained as a diplomat, he has experience in economic diplomacy with Southeast Asian countries,” said Wang Dehua, a South Asia specialist at the Shanghai Municipal Centre for International Studies.

“The fact he headed the ethnic and religious affairs commission suggests he is capable of dealing with sensitive issues,” he said.

One of Nong’s primary roles will be to promote the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a US$62 billion dollar programme under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.