Gong Zheng elected mayor of municipality

The Shanghai Municipal People's Congress elected Gong Zheng, a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, as mayor of Shanghai on Tuesday.

Gong had been appointed the city's acting mayor in March when former mayor Ying Yong was appointed Party secretary of Hubei province in February.

In a speech to the municipal congress, Gong said he felt honored to take over the "relay baton" as mayor amid the city's ambition to become a modern global municipality.