On June 26, 2023, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Xu Haoliang from China as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He will succeed Usha Rao-Monari from India. Xu Haoliang graduated with a bachelor's degree in Bridge Engineering from Tongji University in 1983. He then pursued further studies in the United States, earning dual master's degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology and Columbia University.

In the appointment statement, Secretary-General Guterres noted that Xu Haoliang brings nearly 30 years of experience in the field of international development. Since 2019, Xu Haoliang has served as the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director of the UNDP Policy Bureau. From 2013 to 2019, he held the position of Assistant Administrator of UNDP and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific. Prior to that, he held various positions within the United Nations system, working at the United Nations Headquarters and in several regional offices in the Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Central Asia regions.

In June 2015, Xu Haoliang, an alumnus of Tongji University who was then serving as the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Assistant Administrator of UNDP and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, returned to his alma mater to participate in the Excellence in Civil Engineering Lecture Series and shared his Growth Experience at the United Nations with faculty and students. He was honored with the Tongji University Outstanding Alumni Service Award for his outstanding contributions to sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region on the international stage.