When Liu first became finance minister, he was tasked with reforming the mechanism for sharing fiscal income and spending responsibilities between the central and local governments.ĭuring his tenure, transfer payments by the central government to lower-level governments jumped over 50% to reach 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) this year. He was promoted in 2013 to deputy finance minister, and had a stint with the NPC’s Standing Committee for more than a year with a focus on financial and economic work. Liu spent about three decades working for the government of Guangdong, one of China’s richest provinces and where his family is from. He graduated from Xiamen University’s fiscal policy and finance program, the same as incoming Vice Premier He. Liu, 66, retained his role as finance minister, which he was first elevated to in 2018. Yi held several central bank roles before becoming governor, including head of the foreign exchange regulator and assistant to former central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan. He taught economics at Indiana University in the US for eight years before returning to China in the 1990s. Yi also managed the country’s effort to curb soaring debt in the economy, and the PBOC’s mandate over financial stability was strengthened under his reign.Ī fluent English speaker, Yi is well respected internationally and regularly engages with other central bank chiefs in public events. He further modernized monetary policy and helped reclaim the yuan’s international standing after a botched devaluation in 2015 hurt market confidence. Since taking office in early 2018, the 65-year-old Yi has pushed forward reforms and led the PBOC through tumultuous times, including the US-China trade war and the Covid pandemic. Yi stayed on as central bank governor, a surprise move given he had reached the retirement age for ministers. Yi Gang, governor of People’s Bank of China He holds a PhD in economics from Xiamen University. The city’s economic growth soared at first, but has since slowed amid persisting concerns, including building vacancies. There, he oversaw the construction of a massive new district billed as “China’s Manhattan.” He spent over two decades in Fujian, one of the first regions that opened up to foreign investment, before becoming a deputy party secretary in northern China’s Tianjin city in 2009. He is seen as a close confidante of Xi, having known him since the 1980 when they worked as government officials in Xiamen, a city in the coastal province of Fujian. He, 68, was formerly the chairman of China’s powerful economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission. Here’s a look at the key players in China’s new government: READ: China Retains Yi as Central Bank Governor in Surprise Move Analysts say the retainment of some top roles - like Yi Gang as central bank governor - suggests a desire to keep policy consistent at least in the short term as the nation wraps up a regulatory restructure. The country is navigating a challenging recovery after the pandemic, with strains this year from weakening exports and a struggling property market.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |