Beijing ? Vice Premier Huang Ju, a key ally of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin who climbed the ranks of Shanghai politics to join the Communist Party’s inner sanctum of power, died early today, the official Xinhua News Agency said. He was 68.

Xinhua did not disclose the cause of death, though Huang had been ill, reportedly with pancreatic cancer, for much of the past two years.

Xinhua said the Chinese leadership in its official obituary of Huang called him “a long-tested and faithful communist fighter” – a traditional description for a leader who dies in good standing.

Huang ranked No. 6 in the party hierarchy. His death creates a vacancy in the Politburo and gives President Hu Jintao an opportunity to increase his hold on power by filling it with a supporter.

Because of his illness, Huang had been expected to retire later this year at an important party congress, a once-every-five-years event that normally occasions sharp infighting for senior posts. It’s unclear whether Hu, unrivaled for power after five years as party head, will now move to fill Huang’s Politburo seat ahead of the congress.

Born in September 1938 in the eastern province of Zhejiang, Huang joined the Communist Party when he was 24 years old.

After graduating with a degree in engineering from the prestigious Tsinghua University, he began working as a technician for the Shanghai Artificial Board-Making Machinery Plant and took on increasingly important positions at Shanghai-based state enterprises.

In 1991 he became Shanghai’s mayor and three years later party chief, a post he held until 2002, when he was promoted to the Standing Committee.

Huang disappeared from public view in late 2005 and had been absent from many public, official functions since.