The Communist Party chief in China's far northwest Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of having carried out a massive crackdown on Muslim minorities, is leaving the post after some seven years, Chinese state-run media said on Sunday.

Chen Quanguo, who is on a US blacklist for his role in the alleged mistreatment of ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims, is to be replaced by Ma Xingrui, governor of Guangdong province.