China has named Dai Bing, deputy chief of its permanent mission to the United Nations, as the new ambassador to South Korea.

According to diplomatic sources on Thursday, Beijing nominated the UN mission deputy to succeed former Ambassador Xing Haiming, who left the post vacant in July. 

Dai’s career has centered on diplomacy with Africa, a region to which China has made massive budgetary commitments.

The nominee is seen as more of a “heavyweight” than previous ambassadors to Seoul. 

Observers have suggested that Beijing may be attaching greater importance to its diplomatic ties with Seoul amid the intensifying Sino-U.S. tensions and increasing military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow.