On Friday, China appointed a new chairman for the nation's dominant missile maker.

Chen Ximing, 53, was named chairman and Party chief of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, a State-owned defense conglomerate, at a meeting at the company's Beijing headquarters, according to a brief statement from CASIC.

His appointment was announced by an official from the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the statement said, without elaborating.

Before his new position, Chen was general manager and deputy Party chief of China Electronics Technology Group Corp, the nation's largest supplier of defense electronics.

Having a doctor's degree in computer application, Chen started his career in 1993 and had worked in the electronics industry since then before coming to CASIC.

In September 2018, he was named deputy general manager of China Electronics Corp.

Four years later, he was promoted to general manager at China Electronics Technology Group Corp.

Chen is a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body in China.

Before Chen, the chairman and Party chief of CASIC was Yuan Jie, 58, who spent his entire career in the aerospace sector and was appointed the company's head in June 2020.