BEIJING - China welcomes the US government nomination of Gary Locke as the new ambassador to China, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday.

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China would like the new US ambassador to China to help strengthen the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a regular news briefing.

"The relationship between China and the US is very important. And we hope the new ambassador plays a positive role in advancing the development of Sino-US relations," said Jiang.

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday formally nominated Commerce Secretary Locke to be the next US Ambassador to China, saying that no one was better qualified for the diplomatic post than Locke.

If approved by the US Senate and China, 61-year-old Locke would succeed Jon Huntsman, who is expected to end his tenure at the end of April. Locke would be the first Chinese-American to hold the post.