BEIJING, Nov 6 — One of China’s vice premiers, He Lifeng, has been appointed head of the office of the Central Financial Commission (CFC) - which is responsible for running the day to day affairs of the new regulator tasked with overseeing the country’s vast financial sector.
He was also appointed as party chief of a separate Central Financial Work Commission, which has been set up to strengthen the ideological and political role of the party in China’s overall financial system.
The appointments, which were announced in Financial News - a central bank publication, underscore how China’s ruling Communist Party has taken direct control of supervising the financial sector.
China announced in March it would set up the CFC under a broad restructuring of both party and government entities to tighten the party’s supervision of the industry.
The head of the CFC has yet to be named.
He has been playing a prominent role in handling China’s financial, economic and trade issues since being named a vice premier during a planned cabinet reshuffle in March.
He has also been appointed director of a key ruling Communist Party economic body, matching his high-profile predecessor Liu He with a particularly powerful portfolio covering economic policy, the financial sector and trade ties with Washington.
Last week, state media reported that the Communist Party would step up its leadership of the finance industry and strengthen efforts to reduce local debt risks, citing a twice-a-decade financial policy meeting that was held on Oct.30-31. — Reuters
