The ruling Chinese Communist Party on Tuesday unexpectedly appointed a new head of an influential party department that manages relations with foreign political parties.
Liu Haixing, 62, formerly director of the foreign ministry's European department, replaced Liu Jianchao, 61, as head of the party's international department.
The whereabouts of Liu Jianchao, who has vanished from the public eye over the last two months, were not clear.
Liu Jianchao was detained after returning from a work trip to Singapore, South Africa and Algeria, which ended on July 30, sources previously told Reuters.
The party's international department did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for information on Liu Jianchao.
His successor Liu Haixing previously served as a senior director of a powerful party commission overseeing national security. He had studied in Paris in the 1980s. (with inputs from Reuters)
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