China's State Council, the cabinet, on Tuesday appointed Lou Jiwei as its Deputy Secretary-General, a position with ministerial status.

Lou was born in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, in 1950. He served in the Chinese Navy from 1968 to 1973, and later became Vice-Governor of southwest China's Guizhou Province and Vice-Minister of Finance.

(Xinhua News Agency March 7, 2007)