BEIJING -- A senior Chinese official under international sanctions, including from the U.S. and European Union, has been promoted to the top post in Tibet, as President Xi Jinping seemingly doubles down against Western criticism over Beijing's treatment of the country's minorities.

Wang Junzheng was named the new Communist Party secretary for the Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday. He previously served as deputy party secretary in Xinjiang, leading the police and justice department in the region since 2019. He has also studied at Tsinghua University, Xi's alma mater.

The U.S., the EU, the U.K. and Canada imposed sanctions on Wang this spring, including freezing his assets, for his connection to alleged human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in Xinjiang.

The Tibet party chief is usually chosen from the roughly 200-member Central Committee of the Communist Party. But Wang is an alternate member, putting him a rung below. There is speculation that he could be promoted to a full-fledged Central Committee member in the future.

The Xi administration appears to have decided on Wang's appointment at a Monday meeting of the Communist Party Politburo.

Tibet has long been a sensitive topic in China. NBA player Enes Kanter's name appeared to be blocked on Chinese messaging platform Weibo after the Boston Celtics player called Xi a "brutal dictator" and criticized China's policies regarding Tibet on social media on Wednesday.

Celtics games have also reportedly been pulled from the Chinese internet.