Qiu Xiaohua was appointed head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), succeeding Li Deshui, who retired, according to the announcement on its website yesterday.

Qiu was born in east China's Fujian Province in January 1958 and started to work for the bureau in 1982 after graduating from the Xiamen University.

He became deputy commissioner of the bureau in September 1999.

His predecessor Li Deshui, 61, had been head since May 2003.

(China Daily March 17, 2006)