Chinese President Hu Jintao has formally appointed six new ambassadors to foreign countries, according to a statement from the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Thursday.

Hu made the appointments in line with decision made by the NPC Standing Committee.

Min Yongnian was appointed ambassador to Brunei, replacing Tong Xiaoling.

Wei Wei was appointed ambassador to Singapore, replacing Zhang Xiaokang.

Qiu Bohua was appointed ambassador to Papua New Guinea, replacing Wei Ruixing.

Ding Wei was appointed ambassador to Italy and San Marino, replacing Sun Yuxi.

Zhou Li was appointed ambassador to Kazakhstan, replacing Cheng Guoping.

Zhang Beisan was appointed ambassador to Portugal, replacing Gao Kexiang.