The central government yesterday nominated a new mayor for the municipality of Chongqing and also promoted a close ally of President Hu Jintao to a regional party chief position, in a new round of leadership reshuffling at the provincial government level.
The latest changes signal that preparations for the next party congress in 2012 are quietly under way.
Chongqing Deputy Mayor Huang Qifan has been nominated to become the mayor of the southwestern municipality, which has recently launched a massive crackdown on organised crime, Xinhua reported.
Huang, 57, previously deputy secretary general of the Shanghai government, became Chongqing's deputy mayor in 2001 and has since been in charge of the municipality's finance and industry sectors.
Reports did not mention what the next appointment of his predecessor Wang Hongju would be, although he turned 64 last month, one year from the official retirement age.
Meanwhile, one of Hu's closest allies, Hebei province Governor Hu Chunhua , has been promoted to party chief of the Inner Mongolia region .
