Senior diplomat Liu Jianchao has been promoted to lead an important department of the countrys top anti-corruption watchdog， opening a new career path for top diplomats.

Liu， assistant foreign minister， has been appointed deputy director of the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention， a vice-ministerial-level post， according to a government announcement in September.

He has also been named head of the International Cooperation Department of the more powerful Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China， the countrys top anti-graft watchdog， sources at the commission said.

Liu is the first official to be promoted from the Foreign Ministry to the commission.

The commission is the Partys anti-corruption agency， while the bureau is a government department. A commission deputy director will usually also be head of the bureau， and some other personnel from the two agencies also overlap.

One of Lius most important responsibilities is believed to be leading the pursuit of corrupt officials who have fled abroad.

Liu， who worked for eight years as Chinas diplomatic spokesman， is widely known to the media and the public.

He is expected to use his diplomatic experience to help with the hunt for economic fugitives who have fled abroad.

Born in 1964 in Dehui， Jilin province， Liu graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University and also studied international relations at Oxford University.

He became the youngest Foreign Ministry spokesman in 2001 at age 38. His open attitude and eloquence won him a good reputation among the media.

He was appointed Chinas ambassador to the Philippines in 2009， a challenging position because of Beijings territorial conflicts with Manila over the South China Sea.

In 2011 he became ambassador to Indonesia， and two years later he was promoted to assistant foreign minister.