New leaders named in Guangdong, Chongqing

The Chinese government has announced the appointment of two new top party officials for Guangdong province and Chongqing municipality, two of the country's key economic areas, AFP reported. Wang Yang will take over as Guangdong's party secretary – the most powerful provincial-level post – and current commerce minister Bo Xilai will assume his former position as Chongqing's party secretary. The changes stem from the leadership reshuffle announced at the Communist Party of China's five-yearly congress meeting in October, where new members of the nine-member Politburo Standing Committee were approved. Guangdong and Chongqing are both major manufacturing centers in the south and southwest, respectively.