Reuters-He Lifeng Chinas economy tsar made director of key Party commission
October 30, 2023 3 min 448 words
中国副总理何立峰被任命为执掌党的经济政策、金融领域和与华盛顿的贸易关系的委员会的主任，进一步巩固了他作为中国经济领袖的地位。虽然被视为习主席的亲信，何的晋升还是让一些分析师感到意外，他们原本预计前上海市委书记李强将在经济事务中扮演更重要的角色。自接管经济部门以来，何立峰已经会见了美国财政部长珍妮特·耶伦和欧盟贸易专员瓦尔迪斯·多姆布罗夫斯基斯，上周还陪同习主席进行了他首次公开访问中国央行。然而，何立峰的英语水平不如刘鹤，这也让他与美国官员交流变得更为困难。分析师还预计，一旦习近平重组“中央财经工作委员会”，何将被任命为新的更高级别党内经济监察机构的负责人。中国经济增长超出预期，但仍面临国内房地产危机、青年失业率高、民间部门信心低迷和全球增长放缓等问题。虽然政策制定者最近推出了一系列措施，但由于担忧债务风险和不稳定的人民币汇率，他们促进增长的能力受到了限制。何立峰有望成为重组后的“中央财经工作委员会”的负责人，这个机构自1998年成立以来，于2003年解散，旨在在央行和金融监管机构内建立党的角色。这周在北京举行的国家金融工作会议将有可能为广泛金融行业设定中期重点任务，何立峰可能会在这次会议上崭露头角。总的来说，中国政治中的这一变化表明了习近平政权的强大和集中的特点，强调了经济事务的核心地位。这一动态将引发国际社会的广泛关注，特别是与中国的贸易伙伴和竞争对手。
China's Vice Premier He Lifeng has been appointed director of the ruling Communist Party's commission covering economic policy, the financial sector and trade ties with Washington, strengthening his status as the country's economic overlord.
He, who had previously headed the state planning agency, became one of China's four vice premiers in March when he replaced Liu He, who retired.
He has now also replaced Liu as director of the office of the Central Finance and Economic Affairs Commission, a party body headed by President Xi Jinping.
State media for the first time referred to He by his latest title in a readout of his meeting with a visiting French official on Sunday.
Though regarded as a confidant of President Xi, He's ascent has surprised some analysts, who had expected Premier Li Qiang, former Shanghai party secretary, to take a bigger role in economic affairs.
Since taking over the economic portfolio, He has met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, and last week accompanied Xi on his first known visit to China's central bank.
"He Lifeng is in the post to execute Xi's ideas but not to question him, as Liu He could," said an advisor who had sometimes sat in on briefings with both He and Liu, and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The advisor also confirmed He does not speak English, unlike Liu, who studied economics at Harvard and was popular among U.S. officials because they could more easily converse with him.
Analysts also expect He will be named head of a new and even higher ranking party economic watchdog, once Xi revives the Central Financial Work Commission, which was was disbanded in 2003, having been set up in 1998 to build a role for the party within the central bank and financial regulators.
The world's second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, though it is suffering from a domestic property crisis, high youth unemployment, depressed private sector confidence, and a slowdown in global growth.
Policymakers have unveiled a raft of measures in recent weeks, but their ability to spur growth is constrained by fears over debt risks and a fragile yuan.
He could emerge as head of the resurrected Central Financial Work Commission, when state leaders, regulators and top bankers gather for a quinquennial, closed-door national financial work conference.
That meeting, which could set medium-term priorities for the broad financial industry, will take place in Beijing this week, Bloomberg News reported.