Sun Zhengcai is being tipped as a future top leader

He was once the youngest government minister on the mainland. Now he serves as one of the youngest provincial party chiefs, and is a powerful contender for a future top leadership post.

Sun Zhengcai , 49, became party secretary of Jilin province in 2009. Jilin joined "the trillionaire GDP club" last year, when its economic output hit 1.04 trillion yuan (HK$1.3 trillion), a 14 per cent rise on the previous year. By comparison, the nation's average growth rate was 9.2 per cent.

The achievement was highlighted in special coverage on the province carried on August 8 by People's Daily,

the Communist Party's mouthpiece, as part of a propaganda warm-up for the leadership transition. The province's fiscal income in 2011 was 2.5 times higher than in 2006, while the per-person disposable income of urban and rural residents increased 1.8 and 2.1 times respectively during the five years, the newspaper said.

In a political system where rosy economic indicators still count in evaluations of government officials' performance, such top marks can only help Sun's standing with the party elite.

The newspaper's eight-page report, which included a lengthy interview with Sun on Jilin's growth strategy, was interpreted by some analysts as an endorsement by the central government. Sun told People's Daily he adhered to the central government's strategy of emphasising economic restructuring and improving social welfare.

Industrial strongholds like Jilin must ensure their economic base allows for flexibility to guard against unsustainable development, Sun said in the interview. He emphasised the importance of boosting agricultural output and eliminating the widening wealth gap between urban and rural people.