Chinese pianist says he’s happy to go into war zones as new Ambassador for Peace.

The world’s highest profile pianist has been named a United Nations Ambassador for Peace by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The 31-year-old virtuoso played Chopin’s Waltz No 1 at the news conference to announce his new appointment before telling reporters that he would be prepared to go into Syria or another area of world conflict if the role required.

“When the time comes, I would love to do it,” he said, adding that he’d been unable to sleep due to the excitement and was “truly humbled” to become a UN messenger alongside the like of actor George Clooney.

A staunch nationalist, the pianist will be proud to represent his country on the world stage. “China has become a very important global player,” he said. “I think especially the next generation of Chinese — we would like to be much more open to work with different parts of the world, and I think the UN gives me the perfect platform to start looking into that.”

Lang Lang has been an ambassador for UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, for the last ten years. “In the past with UNICEF I have been...