Changing of the guard

The former spokesperson of China’s Ministry of Commerce, Mr. Yao Jian, has assumed the position as one of the vice-directors of Beijing’s representative China Liaison Office in Macau, a press statement released by the unit has announced. The 52-year-old official has been the ministry’s spokesperson since October 2008, and was the deputy mayor of Qingdao City from August 2011 to September 2012, state-run media outlet China News Agency reported on Friday. Meanwhile, Ms. Qiu Hong, a vice-director at the Liaison Office who also served at the Ministry of Commerce prior to working in Macau, has stepped down from the Office, the press statement said.