Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed a decree appointing Mikhail Mishustin as prime minister, shortly after the former head of the tax service won the backing of parliament.

Mishustin's elevation is part of a sweeping shake-up of the political system announced by Putin on Wednesday, which led to the resignation of Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister along with his government.

Before the vote, Russia's ruling party, United Russia, on Thursday unanimously approved Mishustin's candidacy as prime minister ahead of a formal parliamentary vote, Anastasia Kashevarova, an aide to the parliament's speaker said on social media.

"We decided to unanimously support the candidature suggested by our national leader for the post of the head of government," the head of United Russia's parliamentary faction, Sergei Neverov, told journalists.

"Vladimir Putin held a working meeting with the head of the Federal Tax Service, Mikhail Mishustin, during which he invited him to take the post of prime minister," the Kremlin said in a statement.

"With the consent, he submitted the candidacy of Mishustin for consideration by the State Duma," it added.

The decision was announced after Putin proposed constitutional changes in his annual state-of-the-nation address on Wednesday.

In his state of the nation speech, Putin said he wanted more authority transferred to parliament from the president, including the power to choose the prime minister and cabinet members. He also called for the power of the State Council, an advisory body, to be expanded and enshrined in the constitution.

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Who is Mishustin?

Mishustin, 53, has been working as a tax technocrat since 1998 and was headed as Russia's tax service since 2010.

According to his biography, the holder of PhD in economics was initially trained as an engineer at STANKIN Machine-Instrument Institute (currently Moscow State Technological University STANKIN).

Similar to Medvedev, Mishustin was also an advocate of technology. He managed to digitalize Russia's tax system and is keen on artificial intelligence and other digital technology.

China has said that it completely respects the resignation of Medvedev and the Russian government as it is Russia's internal affair, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said Thursday when asked for comments on the power shift in Russia.

According to Geng, China and Russia's comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has entered a new era, becoming increasingly mature, stable and resilient under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin.

"It will not be affected by the volatile international situation, nor by our respective internal political processes," said Geng, adding that China maintains full confidence in the continued deepening and developing of its comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era with Russia.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)

(Cover: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) attends a meeting with head of the Federal Taxation Service Mikhail Mishustin in Sochi, Russia, November 20, 2018. /Reuters Photo)