Three years later, he returned to China and was appointed deputy director of the Africa Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In December 1995, he succeeded Gu Xin'er as Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, serving in that position from 1995 to 1998.
In March 2001, President Hu Jintao appointed him Chinese ambassador to South Africa, a post in which he served from 2001 to 2007.
"[5]: 84 Ultimately, however, China indicated to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that it could not continue to support Sudan's position in United Nations matters, convincing him to accept peacekeepers, and brokering the deployment of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur.
[5]: 85 During the 2013 South Sudanese Civil War, Chinese policymakers had consider whether to relinquish oil fields and other investments or to continue to maintain them during the conflict.