The Xinhua News Agency's presidency is now occupied by a top official of the ruling party's propaganda department.
Xinhua is the country's mouthpiece, so appointment of the agency's president is taken seriously. Yahoo News reports that the new president of the Xinhua News Agency is Cai Mingzhai, who rises from the rank of vice president of the propaganda department. The 59-year-old replaced Li Congjun, who turned 65 last October, which is the maximum age allowed for ministerial level positions.
In a statement, Pan Liqang, the deputy head of the party's Organization Department, was cited as describing Cai as "politically sober and firm, keeps an appropriate grasp in guiding public opinion and conscientiously aligns himself with the party's central committee."
Cai was previously working as the head of the information office of the State Council, China's cabinet. He has been with the news agency for 23 years already, starting from 1978. He started out as a journalist and later promoted to take on managerial positions.
Cai's appointment is said to have a political undertone. For months, there were a lot of speculations and rumors that Cai would transfer to Xinhua so that he would be holding a position that is less powerful than his former propaganda role.
"A news agency publisher's influence can't be compared with that of the head of the State Council Information Office," explained Qiao Mu, a professor of media studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. According to the expert, by appointing Cai and as a result putting propaganda chiefs in party media, the city is emphasizing how large the role of media is serving as the party's mouthpiece.
Founded in 1931, the Xinhua News Agency has since achieved a virtual monopoly over the country's domestic information market. Its headquarters are in Beijing and currently has at least 180 outlets around the world.