MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin appointed veteran diplomat Andrei Denisov as the new ambassador to China, the Kremlin press service said Tuesday.

Denisov, 51, will replace Sergei Razov, who served in the Russian diplomatic mission in Beijing since 2005.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Denisov worked as first deputy foreign minister since April 2006 and he also served as the Russian permanent envoy to the United Nations.

Denisov's post in the Foreign Ministry will be taken over by Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov.