Wu Guanzheng, Party chief of Shandong Province in eastern China, has been appointed to head the Party's anti-corruption body.

As the country’s leaders stress the risk that corruption poses to the Party's support, Mr Wu’s new post is likely to carry considerable weight.

Born in August 1938, he hails from Jiangxi Province.

Mr Wu joined the Party aged 21 and graduated in thermal engineering from Beijing’s prestigious Qinghua University in 1968.

Throughout his career Mr Wu has been groomed by Jiang Zemin.

Having worked his way up the Party ranks, he held the post of mayor in the large industrial town of Wuhan from 1983-86.

In 1986 he took on the post of Jiangxi governor and later became Party secretary.

He moved to Shandong in 1997 and was made a full member of the Politburo the same year.

Some analysts believe that he is not only an ally of retiring President Jiang, but also has reasonably close links with the new leader Hu Jintao.