Lin Songtian

Lin was born in Dongshan County, Fujian Province, in May 1960. He graduated from the Foreign Languages Department of Fujian Normal University in 1982 and later studied at the China Foreign Affairs University. He is a member of the Chinese Communist Party. Lin began his diplomatic career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in the late 1980s. Early in his career, he served in Saudi Arabia, including at the Chinese Embassy in Riyadh, where he held positions as attaché and third secretary. He later worked in the Department of Personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he rose from third secretary to division chief.^[2][3]

From 1999 to 2002, Lin served as counsellor at the Chinese Embassy in Zambia, followed by a position as counsellor in the Department of African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2003, he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Liberia, a position he held until 2007. He subsequently returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as deputy director-general of the Department of Personnel.^[2]

Lin was appointed Ambassador to Malawi in 2008, serving until 2010. He then became director-general of the Department of External Affairs Management of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2014, and later director-general of the Department of African Affairs from 2014 to 2017.^[4] From 2017 to 2020, he served as Ambassador to South Africa.^[5][6]

In 2020, Lin was appointed President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, a position he held until 2023. He is a delegate to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, a member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC, and currently serves as Vice Chairperson of its Foreign Affairs Committee. He is also a standing member of the 6th Council of the China Economic and Social Council.^[7][8]