Wang Dongfeng, 58, former acting mayor of China's northern municipality of Tianjin, was elected mayor on Sunday.

The announcement was made at the 5th session of the Standing Committee of the 16th Tianjin Municipal People's Congress, the local legislative body.

Li Hongzhong, Tianjin's Party chief, spoke highly of the meeting, saying that it fully reflected the common aspiration of the people of the city.

"I will speed up creation of defined functions in Tianjin's organization and take the responsibility to build a better Tianjin," Wang said.

He said that he will strengthen the integrated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Heibei and make Tianjin into an R&D base, the center of the northern international shipping industry, a leader in financial innovation and a pioneer of reform and opening.

"We will make a great effort to build an innovative and clean government which will be eager to learn and serve, in order to develop a beautiful Tianjin," he said.

In September 2016, Wang was appointed as acting mayor of Tianjin, after the former mayor was investigated over allegations of serious disciplinary violations.

He was appointed as deputy secretary of the municipal Party committee of Tianjin In April 2013, and in that same year was appointed secretary of the municipal Party committee of Tongchuan of Shanxi Province.