Ma Jiantang, vice-governor of Qinghai province, has been appointed head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the State Council announced yesterday.

A native of Shandong, the 50-year-old succeeds Xie Fuzhan as the country's top statistician.

Ma began his government career in 1988 after earning a doctorate at the graduate school of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. His first post was with the development research center of the State Council.