Ministry reshuffles ahead of NPC meeting

China announced the removal of five ministers appointed by President Hu Jintao from state security, supervision and personnel ministries Thursday, the Financial Times reported. The replaced officials include state security minister Xu Yongyue and finance minister Jin Renqing. The ministerial reshuffle comes ahead of the country's five-yearly Communist Party Congress in October, where both Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao will begin a second five-year term. Over the past three years, Hu has gradually replaced senior provincial and city leaders with trusted officials, weeding out loyalists of his predecessor, Jiang Zemin.