New era begins: Xi casting his ballot during the fifth plenary session of the First Session of the 14th NPC at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. — Bloomberg
The country unexpectedly kept its central bank governor and finance minister in their posts at the annual session of the rubber-stamp parliament, prioritising continuity as economic challenges loom at home and abroad.
President Xi Jinping, who has been installing allies in key roles in a government reshuffle as he begins a third five-year term, broke with convention yesterday to retain Yi Gang, 65, as governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and Liu Kun, 66, as finance minister. Both men have reached the official retirement age of 65.
Across the slate of appointments, there were fewer changes than anticipated, with most Cabinet ministers keeping their posts.
However, further announcements are expected in coming weeks as China implements a reorganisation of its financial regulatory structure and other government bodies.
“Opting for continuity in these critical economic roles suggests an emphasis on credibility and stability,” said Mattie Bekink, China director at the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network.
“It is also perhaps a tacit acknowledgment of some of the challenges for Beijing at the moment,” she said.
“The real challenge for this third Xi administration is whether it will address structural imbalances in China’s economy and undertake reforms necessary to ensure China’s long-term competitiveness.”
The government has set a 2023 economic growth target of around 5%, up from 3% last year, which was among the weakest performances in decades.
China’s statistics bureau head, Kang Yi, told the parliamentary session yesterday that China’s economy still contains deep structural “contradictions” and “problems”, according to state media.
Chinese policymakers face the challenge of getting the economy back on track after three years of Covid-19 restrictions, weak consumer and business sentiment and increasingly adversarial relations with the West, with many global firms looking to hedge their China exposure.
Also yesterday, China as expected appointed Li Shangfu, who is sanctioned by the United States over the purchase of Russian weapons, as defence minister, and named a slate of four vice premiers, led by Ding Xuexiang, who has long served as Xi’s chief of staff.
The biggest change at the parliament session was the promotion on Saturday of Li Qiang, 63, a long-time Xi confidant, to premier.
The former Shanghai Communist Party boss takes a role charged with managing the economy, replacing Li Keqiang, 67, who stepped down after two five-year terms.
“The government sent a positive signal to the market by keeping these senior financial experts in the Cabinet,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
Analysts had anticipated that once Yi and Liu stepped aside, they would be replaced by people with far less international experience.
“The US side will be much more comfortable with someone like Yi Gang in charge,” said Alfred Wu, assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.
“It shows China wants to at least have a dialogue with the United States on monetary policy and financial cooperation,” he said. — Reuters
