Politics

China retains central bank governor, finance minister

Beijing, Mar 12 (EFE).- China’s parliament, or the National People’s Congress (NPC), decided to retain Yi Gang as governor of the country’s central bank on Sunday.

Yi‘s appointment follows an announcement of the creation of a new national regulatory agency for the financial sector.

The NPC also decided to keep Liu Kun as finance minister and Wang Wentao as commerce minister.

Zheng Shanjie, a close ally of President Xi Jinping, was appointed head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning body.

Ding Xuexiang, He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing and Liu Guozhong were confirmed as the country’s vice premiers.

Li Shangfu, Wang Xiaohong, Wu Zhenglong, Shen Yiqin and Qin Gang were named as state councilors, responsible for developing the principles and policies promoted by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in the government.

The NPC also approved the appointment as new defense minister of General Li Shangfu, who was sanctioned in 2018 by the United States over the purchase of weapons from Russian state-owned company, Rosoboronexport.

In addition, the legislature appointed Wang Xiaohong as public security minister and Chen Yixin as state security minister to oversee the country’s interior and intelligence affairs.

With these appointments, the NPC concluded a cabinet reshuffle after the appointment on Saturday of the new premier, Li Qiang, nominated by Xi.

Li, formerly the CPC’s chief of China’s financial capital, Shanghai, will face the difficult task of laying the foundations for the recovery of the world’s second largest economy.

He will have the mission of reactivating the economy and strengthening the country’s self-reliance in science and technology, a response to Washington’s ban on the sale of US-manufactured chips to Chinese companies.

Xi, the CPC’s general secretary, consolidated his power on Friday after being handed an unprecedented third five-year presidential term by the NPC. EFE

jco/pd

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