China Chooses Continuity, Reappoints Yi Gang As Central Bank Governor

Yi Gang's role as governor of the People’s Bank of China was confirmed against expectations of his retirement.

Yi Gang reappointed as head of the central bank. ( Image Source :AFP )

New Delhi: China on Sunday in a surprise move reappointed Yi Gang as head of its central bank to reassure entrepreneurs and financial markets by showing continuity at the top, although economic officials were changed during this time of uncertainty in the world’s second-largest economy.

During China’s rubber-stamp parliament (which opened on March 5), Yi's role as governor of the People’s Bank of China was confirmed against expectations of his retiring. Yi plays no role in making monetary policy, unlike his counterparts in other major economies. His official duties are “implementing monetary policy,” or carrying out decisions made by a policymaking body whose membership is a secret, according to the Associated Press.

However, China did also retain two Xi loyalists as top economic officials – commerce minister Wang Wentao and finance minister Liu Kun – as well as National Health Commission director Ma Xiaowei, who oversaw the country's zero-Covid policy.

During the parliament, China announced plans for a consumer-led revival of the struggling economy, setting this year’s growth target at “around 5%.”

Last year’s growth fell to 3%, the second-weakest level since at least the 1970s, putting the president and head of the ruling Communist Party Xi Jinping under exceptional pressure to revitalise the economy.

A priority for finance officials will be to manage corporate and household debt that Beijing worries have risen to dangerous levels. Tighter debt controls triggered a slump in China’s vast real estate industry in 2021, adding to the Covid-19 pandemic’s downward pressure on the economy.

The Congress also named four vice premiers, individuals who may be in line for higher office. They include the sixth-ranking member of the party’s all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee Ding Xuexiang as vice premier overseeing administrative matters. Veteran bureaucrats He Lifeng, Zhang Guoqing, and Liu Guozhong were also named to the post. Liu and Zhang were incumbents.

Foreign Minister Qin Gang was also appointed to the position of state councillor, a position also held by Wang Yi, his predecessor and current superior as director of the party’s Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission.

Defense Minister Li Shangfu, an aerospace engineer by training, was also named one of the five state councillors, along with Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong and Secretary General of China’s Cabinet, known as the State Council, Wu Zhenglong.

The 24-member Politburo or its Standing Committee has Shen Yiqin as the only woman named to the position and is China’s highest-ranking female politician, the party’s more-than-200-member Central Committee is 95 per cent male.

The national legislature this week approved a broad restructuring of government departments, aimed at boosting self-reliance in manufacturing, as per AFP.