Non-Party member appointed minister of ecology, environment

Huang Runqiu, a member of China's non-Communist party Jiusan Society, was appointed as Minister of Ecology and Environment on Wednesday, making him the country's third minister from a non-Communist party since the country's reform and opening-up in late 1970s.

The decision was made during a bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Wednesday morning.

A native of Central China's Hunan province, Huang studied and worked in Sichuan province for more than 30 years before he was transferred in 2016 to the position of vice-minister in the defunct Ministry of Environmental Protection, which was reshuffled as the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in March 2018.

With a PhD degree in engineering, the 56-year-old was elected as vice-chairman of the 14th Central Committee of Jiusan Society in December 2017.