UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Monday the appointment of Xu Haoliang of China as undersecretary-general and associate administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Xu, who has almost three decades of experience in international development cooperation, will succeed Usha Rao-Monari of India, said the press office of the UN chief.

Xu has been serving as UN assistant secretary-general and director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support at the UNDP since 2019, and he was the UNDP assistant administrator and director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific between 2013 and 2019, Guterres noted.

Xu has fulfilled various roles within the United Nations, working in various field and headquarters assignments in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, said Guterres.

Prior to joining the UN, Xu once worked in the field of civil engineering in China and the U.S. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Bridge Engineering from Tongji University, a master’s degree in Management Science from the Stevens Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in International Affairs from Columbia University.