BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday welcomed the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' appointment of Xia Huang, former Chinese ambassador to the Republic of Congo, as his special envoy for Africa's Great Lakes Region.

"We believe Ambassador Xia, as the first Chinese citizen appointed as the UN secretary-general's special envoy for hotspot issues, will make contributions to advancing UN support for peace, stability and development in the Great Lakes Region," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a press briefing.

As a diplomat intensively engaged in African affairs for a long time and well versed in the Great Lakes Region issue, Xia has rich diplomatic experience, Hua said, adding that China will actively support the work of Guterres and Xia.