PETALING JAYA: Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has been appointed the Prime Minister's special envoy to the People's Republic of China, says the Prime Minister's Department.

In a statement, the department said the position is of a ministerial level.

"Tiong King Sing has been appointed as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to China and is of ministerial level.

"Tiong is the PDP president and also Bintulu MP. He was the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to East Asia from 2014 to 2018.

"His role will be to further strengthen the two-way relationship between Malaysia and China, especially in trade and investment," the statement read.

In March, the Prime Minister offered the post of deputy National Unity minister in the Prime Minister's Department but Tiong had declined to accept the post.

As Tiong was a five-term MP, the PDP supreme council then said that the post of a deputy minister was incompatible for such a senior politician.