China has appointed a veteran journalist and senior official of the ruling Communist Party's publicity department as the new head of the country's key mouthpiece Xinhua news agency, the latest in several replacements in the party's media agencies.
59-year-old Cai Mingzhao, vice director of the party's propaganda department, has replaced Li Congjun, 65, who would no longer work as Xinhua's president and party chief after crossing the age limit, the agency said in a statement today.
A journalist for Xinhua for 23 years before he was moved to the publicity department of the CPC, Cai has worked in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in his early years and served in its political and publicity departments.
He has also worked as director of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, editor-in-chief of the CPC's mouthpiece the People's Daily and served as Minister of Information.
Cai visited India in 2013 and took part in the inauguration of the India-China Media Forum.
Backed by huge funding, China's official media is undergoing major expansion in recent years especially in global operations.
In India, Xinhua is set to open its office in Mumbai this year with a two-member bureau in addition to its bureau in New Delhi.
Cai's appointment is the latest of several replacements in the ruling party's key information and media agencies over the past year.
In April, Yang Zhenwu was appointed as the the new president of the People's Daily.
On Sunday, Luo Shugang, a vice director of the Propaganda Department, took over from Cai Wu as culture minister.
