BEIJING - China's State Council, or cabinet, on Saturday announced a number of new appointments and dismissals in a reshuffle of various departments.

Li Jiayang, former vice president of the China Academy of Sciences, was removed from the current post and appointed vice minister of Ministry of Agriculture. Jiao Li, former president of China Central Television, was appointed deputy head of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), and Hu Zhanfan, former editor-in-chief of the Guangming Daily, became Jiao's successor.

Lei Mingshan, a department chief of the State Council's Three Gorges Project Construction Committee, was appointed deputy chief of the executive office of the Committee, and Xia Jingyuan, an expert in agriculture, was appointed China's permanent representative in the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization.

At the same time, the State Council removed Liao Xiaojun, vice finance minister, and Qian Guanlin, deputy head of the State Administration of Taxation, from their offices.

Han Kang, vice president of the National Academy of Governance, and Li Dongdong, deputy head of the GAPP, have also been removed, as well as Song Yuansheng and Li Zhengdong, Lei and Xia's predecessors respectively.