NANNING -- Peng Qinghua was elected Communist Party of China (CPC) chief in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region Friday.

Peng, 59, was elected to the post at the first plenary session of the 11th CPC Guangxi regional committee.

Peng was a native of the Hubei province. He studied philosophy in Beijing University and business management at Sun Yat-sen University.

He worked in the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee between 1983 and 2003, before moving to the Liaison Office of the Chinese Central People's Government in Hong Kong as vice director, then director. He became CPC Guangxi secretary in December 2012.