Hu ally tipped to be next Shanghai mayor
Law graduate and former discipline official would strengthen president's grip on city
Shaanxi province's governor Yuan Chunqing has been tipped to become Shanghai's next mayor, a move that would make a political ally of President Hu Jintao second-in-command in the commercial capital.
Mr Yuan's appointment, if confirmed, would see him take over from Han Zheng, who is expected to be named party chief of Anhui province, sources close to the government said yesterday.
The appointment would be another setback for the 'Shanghai faction' - a political clique of serving and former leaders from the city - following a corruption case that toppled former Shanghai party chief Chen Liangyu .
Shanghai has not had a mayor from outside the city in 16 years.
Mr Yuan, 55, is a protege of Mr Hu and a native of Hunan province. He spent nearly 20 years working within the Communist Youth League, Mr Hu's power base.
The timing for the announcement of Shanghai's new mayor is not known, though there is speculation it might be soon.
Just two weeks ago, the government named former Hubei province party chief Yu Zhengsheng as Shanghai's party secretary. He replaced Xi Jinping, who became a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
Mr Yuan studied law at Peking University, setting him apart from the engineering background of many top leaders. He has also served on the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which handles corruption within the party, making him a prime candidate to manage a city trying to recover from a graft scandal.
Mr Hu is believed to have used the Chen embezzlement case to clean house in Shanghai and remove his political opponents.
Mr Yuan began his career as a police officer in Hunan. After leaving university in 1980, he joined the Communist Youth League apparatus and eventually rose to secretary of the secretariat of its central committee.
He then worked for the discipline commission from 1997 before moving to Shaanxi in 2001 as deputy party secretary and acting governor.
He took on the No2 position on a permanent basis nine months ago.
While in Shaanxi, he spoke out against companies in eastern China exporting polluting industries to the impoverished west. This message resonates with the administration's policy of environmental protection and balanced development.
'Governments in northern Shaanxi should assess the environmental impact of investments carefully, especially energy exploration projects,' he said this year.
One of his recent overseas trips was to Zimbabwe, the African country shunned by most of the world, to seek business opportunities.
He holds a master's degree in law from the China University of Political Science and Law, a doctorate in business management and a post-doctoral qualification in theoretical economics from his alma mater, Peking University.
