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China appoints Xi Shanghai's new party boss
2007-03-24
China's government has appointed Xi Jinping, party secretary of Zhejiang province, as Shanghai's new chief, the government announced Saturday. Xi, 53, the party secretary of Zhejiang, will take over from city mayor and acting party secretary Han Zheng, who stepped in after former Shanghai boss Chen Liangyu was fired and arrested for his alleged role in the city's biggest corruption case. The move is seen as part of a major reshuffle of key posts by the Chinese central government that clears the way for the consolidation of President Hu Jintao's political power base. Sweeping leadership changes are also expected in the municipality of Tianjin and the provinces of Shandong, Qinghai and Shaanxi. Xi's appointment could also signal that the central government is ready to close its graft-busting investigation into the misuse of 400 million dollars from Shanghai's pension fund that wound up in real estate investment projects. Nine government officials and businessmen involved in the graft scandal have been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and are awaiting criminal charges in the case.
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