Car thief confesses to killing baby found in stolen car March 6, 2013 -- Updated 0705 GMT (1505 HKT) 48-year-old man confesses to killing baby he found in a car he stole Occurred Monday in Changchun in northeastern China The infant's father left the baby in the car while he went into a store The body of the child has not been found, authorities say Hong Kong (CNN) -- A car thief has confessed to killing a baby he found in a car he stole in China's northeast Jilin province, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Wednesday. A 48-year-old man -- identified as Zhou Xijun -- turned himself into police on Tuesday and confessed that he had killed the baby and buried him in the snow, Xinhua reported, citing local police. The body of the two-month-old child has not yet been found. Zhou stole the grey Toyota SUV from the city of Changchun, the provincial capital, on Monday and discovered the child on the backseat as he drove the vehicle away. After strangling the infant, he abandoned the jeep in the nearby city of Gongzhuling, Xinhua said. The car's license plate and the child's clothes were found in a ditch 500 meters away from the car. The baby's father had purportedly parked in front of the supermarket he runs in Changchun and entered the store to turn on a stove, leaving his son in the back seat with the car's engine still running. When they leave their baby in the car, they should know something bad might happen. Netizen The man, named only as Xu, returned minutes later to find his car was missing. He called the police immediately. "We won't hold you accountable, only if you stop the car and ensure the safety of my child," Xu and his relatives implored via a local traffic radio broadcast on Monday. According to Xinhua, some 8,000 police officers joined the search for the child. News of the murder provoked a storm of anger on Chinese social media, with news of the incident re-tweeted 120,000 times on Weibo, the country's version of Twitter. While many people demanded the death penalty for Zhou, others questioned why the baby had been left in the car. Compared to the criminal, I'm more irritated by the parents. What kind of people will leave their babies alone in cars?" asked @Qiyanhenxiaozhang. The parents abandoned their children. When they leave their baby in the car, they should know something bad might happen," posted @Lingluandabaomaoyeye. Yet others pointed the finger at the media. I'm gonna say something different. I think it's media and people's fault. Everywhere is posting information about the baby, and they irritated the killer and provoked his desperate act. The media has done a really bad work," said Shenshang. "The media surely has the rights to spread information, but they should consider the baby's safety as well," said another netizen, named @zhongguorenshidiqiushangdeqiji. CNN's Feng Ke and Dayu Zhang in Beijing contributed to this report. March 5, 2013 -- Updated 1645 GMT (0045 HKT) Experts detail some of the largest challenges faced by China's new leadership. March 5, 2013 -- Updated 0513 GMT (1313 HKT) The challenge facing China is moving from an export and investment driven economy to a more sustainable consumption-driven economy, writes Li Gan.