BEIJING (REUTERS) - China has appointed Chen Zhenggao as its new housing minister, replacing Jiang Weixin who is retiring, the official Xinhua news agency reported on its Weibo microblog on Friday.

Mr Chen, who holds an economics degree from Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, was previously the party secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-rural Development.

Prior to joining the ministry, he was the governor of the northeastern Liaoning province, according to a statement on the ministry's website.

The official retirement age for ministers is 65 in China and Mr Jiang turns 65 this year.

China's housing market is cooling and there are concerns that a collapse in the sector could cause a hard landing in the world's second-largest economy.

The real estate sector accounts for more than 15 per cent of the country's economic output and directly impacts around 40 other business sectors.