BEIJING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has formally appointed nine new ambassadors to foreign countries, according to a statement from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Sunday.
Hu made the appointments in line with the decision made by the NPC Standing Committee.
Zeng Xianqi was appointed ambassador to Luxemburg, replacing Ma Zhixue.
Shi Mingde was appointed ambassador to Austria, replacing Wu Ken.
Wu Ken was appointed ambassador to Switzerland, replacing Dong Jinyi.
Deng Boqing was dismissed ambassador to Dominica and appointed ambassador to Nigeria, replacing Xu Jianguo.
Pan Hejun was appointed ambassador to Malawi, replacing Lin Songtian.
Yu Qingtai was appointed ambassador to Czech, replacing Huo Yuzhen.
Xu Jianguo was appointed ambassador to New Zealand and the Cook Islands, as well as ambassador to the Island of Niue, replacing Zhang Limin.
Liu Guangyuan was appointed ambassador to Kenya, replacing Deng Hongbo.