China's parliament endorses new cabinet lineup

The new lineup of China's State Council, nominated by Premier Li Keqiang, was endorsed by lawmakers at the ongoing national legislative session here Saturday afternoon.Zhang Gaoli, Liu Yandong, Wang Yang and Ma Kai were endorsed as vice premiers, with Yang Jing, Chang Wanquan, Yang Jiechi, Guo Shengkun and Wang Yong as state councilors, at the sixth plenary meeting of the first session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC).Yang Jing was also appointed secretary-general of the State Council.Born in November 1946 in southeast China's Fujian Province, Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Before being elected to the CPC central leadership last November, Zhang was secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Tianjin municipal committee.Liu Yandong and Ma Kai were both state councilors before the new appointment. Wang Yang served as secretary of the CPC Guangdong provincial committee from 2007 to 2012.NEW MINISTERSLawmakers also endorsed Li's nominations of ministers, governor of the central bank and auditor-general.Among the newly endorsed ministers, nine are new to their positions, including foreign minister, defense minister, finance minister, minister of supervision, commerce minister, minister of land and resources, as well as ministers in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), State Ethnic Affairs Commission and the National Health and Family Planning Commission.Both Zhou Xiaochuan and Liu Jiayi stayed in their posts as governor of the central bank and auditor-general.A former Chinese ambassador to Japan, Wang Yi was appointed foreign minister, replacing Yang Jiechi. Wang had been director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office since 2008.Lou Jiwei, chairman of China Investment Corporation, China's sovereign wealth fund, was appointed finance minister, replacing Xie Xuren.Gao Hucheng, former vice minister of commerce, was appointed minister of commerce, replacing Chen Deming.Xu Shaoshi was appointed head of the National Development and Reform Commission, replacing Zhang Ping. Xu was minister of land and resources before the new appointment.Li Bin, who served as head of the National Population and Family Planning Commission from 2008 to 2011, will lead the newly-founded National Health and Family Planning Commission.