Senior provincial officials named

Five provincial-level administrative regions got their new top officials on Tuesday, as the reshuffling of key positions within the ruling Communist Party of China continued.

Hu Chunhua was appointed Party chief of the southern export powerhouse of Guangdong, replacing reform-minded politician Wang Yang, according to a Party announcement.

Hu, born in April 1963, is one of the only two newly elected members of the Party's core leadership - the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee - who are younger than 50. The other member, the Party chief of Chongqing municipality Sun Zhengcai, is five months younger than Hu.

Hu held various positions in Tibet from 1983 to 1997, and returned to the southwestern autonomous region in 2001 after four years as a senior official of the Communist Youth League of China in Beijing.

He came back to Beijing in 2006 to rejoin the Youth League before being moved to leading positions in North China's Hebei province.

He became Party chief of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region in 2009.

On Tuesday, the Party also decided that Wang Jun, the 60-year-old governor of Shanxi province, will replace Hu as Party chief of Inner Mongolia. Both Shanxi and Inner Mongolia are rich in coal resources.

Three governors of Jilin, Shaanxi and Zhejiang provinces were also promoted to Party chiefs of their provinces, according to a separate Party statement on Tuesday.

Wang Rulin, 59, was appointed Party chief of Jilin in Northeast China, replacing Sun Zhengcai. Last month, Sun was named Party chief of Chongqing in Southwest China.

Zhao Zhengyong, 61, took over as Party chief of Shaanxi in Northwest China, replacing Zhao Leji, who was appointed head of the Party's organization department in November.

Xia Baolong, 60, was named Party chief of the coastal province of Zhejiang, replacing Zhao Hongzhu, who took over a leading position in the Party's top discipline watchdog last month.

Tuesday's announcements marked the latest reshuffle of key positions after the ruling Party concluded its five-yearly national congress in November.

Analysts said that more personnel changes are expected in the near future, as the 18th Party Congress elected a new 205-member CPC Central Committee.

Special coverage:

Meet China's new Party chiefs