China’s vice minister of commerce was on Tuesday appointed as new deputy director general of the World Trade Organization.
Two out of the four chosen are women, a first for the global trade watchdog. Their four predecessors, all men, stepped down on March 31.
Replacing their compatriots are Angela Ellard, an American lawyer and trade expert who has worked at the U.S. Congress, and Zhang Xiangchen, currently vice trade minister and its former WTO ambassador, the WTO said in a statement.
The global posting for Zhang Xiangchen means the intergovernmental group has had a Chinese national holding the senior role since 2013.