After being replaced as party secretary in China’s most industrialized province of Guangdong, Wang Yang sent a farewell letter to local netizens on Tuesday to thank them for their support and understanding, the official People’s Daily Online reported.

A liberal political figure, Wang said goodbye to Guangdong netizens through a farewell letter and thanked them for their criticisms and suggestions over the past five years.

The website published the full text of the letter.

Wang said in the letter that netizens have contributed a lot to the achievements that Guangdong has made in industrial transformation and building a better society.

“In the future, I hope you can keep supporting Guangdong and the country’s development,” he said in the letter. “Let’s work together to contribute to the country's prosperity, the nation’s rejuvenation as well as people's happiness!”

Wang has been replaced by China’s rising political star Hu Chunhua, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Tuesday, but it has not announced which post Wang will take.

The appointment is part of a local leadership reshuffling, following last month’s party congress.

Observers say Wang is likely to be named a vice premier when China's legislature meets in the spring.

Wang, 57, is seen as a reform-minded politician. Though on some lists of contenders, he was not named as one of the party's seven-member Standing Committee last month, but was named to the lower-ranking Politburo.

During his time in office, Wang led Guangdong to restructure its economy away from an export-driven model and to grappled with rising social tensions among migrant workers.