China names new Communist Party chief in Chongqing
- Published
China has appointed a new Communist Party chief in Chongqing, the city once led by disgraced politician Bo Xilai.
Sun Zhengcai, 49, will take over from outgoing chief Zhang Dejiang, who was promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee, Xinhua news agency said.
Mr Zhang replaced Bo Xilai in March, as investigations into his case began.
Mr Bo is now facing trial on a raft of charges. His wife Gu Kailai was jailed in August for the murder of a British businessman.
Mr Sun is a newly-appointed member of the 25-strong politburo. He previously served as party secretary in Jilin province and was agriculture minister from 2006-2009.
The reshuffle follows the party congress last week at which the Communist Party unveiled the leadership line-up that will govern for the next decade.
More reshuffles are expected - on Monday, Meng Jianzhu was named China's new security chief, replacing Zhou Yongkang as head of the party's Politics and Law Commission.
The post was also downgraded - Mr Meng is not a Politburo Standing Committee member but Mr Zhou was.
Bo Xilai has been stripped of his officials positions and his immunity from prosecution in the wake of the scandal that engulfed his family.
His wife is in prison after admitting killing Neil Heywood, a British national with whom she is said to have had a business dispute.
Mr Bo - whose police chief has been jailed for both covering up and then exposing the case - faces charges related to corruption and abuse of power.
China's newly-appointed Communist Party leader, Xi Jinping, has stressed the importance of fighting corruption in the few days since he assumed his post.
"In recent years, within our party there have been serious discipline violations, the nature of which has been very bad, with a terrible political impact, causing much alarm," Mr Xi said in a speech to the politburo over the weekend, as reported by state media.