Former Guangxi vice-chairman Tang Renjian is the latest to join the country's economic inner circle after he was named the deputy director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, helmed by Chinese President Xi Jinping's right-hand man, Liu He.
The announcement was made through a statement on the official website of the government of Hanting District, Weifang, Shandong, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
Tang has also been appointed as the deputy general office director of the Communist Party's Central Rural Work Leading Group, China's top agricultural policy body.
A group that previously operates behind closed doors, it is now increasingly making its way into the limelight.
For instance, Liu has recently made an appearance after he went to Sichuan for economic development assessment. He also chaired a Shanghai symposium attended by economic planners from various coastal provinces.
Tang's predecessor is highly respected rural expert Chen Xiwen. The 66-year-old official, who has become a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is known as a staunch condemner of the campaign, "forcing farmers to live upstairs."
Chen strongly opposed when local authorities forced farmers out of their hometowns into high rises, using urbanization policy as an excuse.
Now, Tang's appointment comes as the urbanization in the country rapidly transforms agricultural land into industrial and residential areas.
Tang spent most years of his political career in agricultural policy. He has also previously worked with Chen before he was relocated to Guangxi in 2014.
From 2012 to 2014, he has been by Chen's side during State Council media briefings about China's annual agricultural development policy. He would often take questions from foreign and domestic media personnel.
Back in 2014, Tang remarked that China's agricultural output comes with very high environmental price, which includes excessive use of fertilizers, reduction of farmland as well as water shortages.