Li Zhanshu has been appointed Party chief in southwest China's Guizhou Province, according to a brief statement from the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Saturday.

Li replaces Shi Zongyuan as secretary of the CPC Guizhou Provincial Committee.

Li, 60, is a native of north China's Hebei Province.

He was appointed deputy secretary of the CPC Heilongjiang Provincial Committee in 2003 and was elected governor of Heilongjiang in January 2008.

Shi, 64, is also a native of Hebei Province.