Xie Fuzhan, head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), was appointed by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Tuesday as director of the State Council's Research Office.

The office is considered a think tank for the Cabinet. It drafts government work reports and other reports for major conferences of the Cabinet and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and provides economic consultations and advice.

Xie, 54, has been head of the NBS since 2006.

Prior to that, Xie was deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet ended 64-year-old Wei Liqun's seven-year tenure as Research Office of the State Council director and appointed him as the National School of Administration vice president.

Jiang Yikang's post as National School of Administration vice president was also ended by the Cabinet.

(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2008)