(XINHUA)

Zhang Jian, 47, former Director of Policy and Regulation at China's General Administration of Sport, formally replaced Wei Di as the Chinese soccer chief on January 25.

Zhang has accompanied Cai Zhenhua, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Sport, on a visit to Japan to research soccer, and then went to South America to do soccer-related research. He also delivered a speech on the problems facing Chinese soccer at a sports forum last May.