Liu Qibao, a close ally of President Hu Jintao, has been appointed the country's propaganda chief, with analyst saying they expect he will maintain the hardline press controls of his predecessor.
Yesterday's tersely worded Xinhua announcement of Liu's appointment capped weeks of speculation that Liu Qibao, a former Sichuan party secretary, would succeed Liu Yunshan to become the director of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party's Central Committee.
Liu Yunshan was elevated to the party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee at the end of the 18th party congress and expected to retain responsibility for propaganda control as part of his portfolio.
Liu Qibao, 59, a native of Susong county, Anhui province, spent more than a decade overseeing propaganda for his home province's branch of the Communist Youth League before being appointed secretary to the league's Central Committee, a key powerbase of Hu's.
Notably, Liu also spent a year in the early 1990s as deputy chief editor of the party's mouthpiece, the People's Daily, a credential which likely contributed to his selection as the country's propaganda chief.
Qiao Mu, a communications professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that Liu's promotion was a huge career boost that could pave the way for another promotion at the next party congress in five years.