China's Political Season: Key economic leadership posts filled
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We start the show with a look at the Two Sessions. The first session of the 13th National People's Congress has held its seventh plenary session Monday. It endorsed the Vice Premiers, as well as state councilors and ministers. Let's take a closer look at some of the key people newly charged with steering China's massive economy. Guan Xin has the details.
Liu He, a key economic adviser to President Xi Jinping, was elected as a vice premier. Liu has a deep understanding of China's economic issues and is widely seen as the mastermind behind Xi's supply-side reforms. Analysts say Liu's promotion shows Beijing's intention to press ahead with a clampdown on riskier financing and a rapid build-up in debt to reduce systemic risks. Liu earned a master's degree in public administration at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in 1995. He previously had been head of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs and vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Another heavy-weight on China's new economic team is Yi Gang. Yi was elected to be the head of the People's Bank of China. Yi graduated from Peking University with a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1980. Later, in the United States, he earned a Ph.D. in Economics in 1986 at the University of Illinois. After that, he taught economics for eight years at Indiana University. Yi has spent the past 20 years at the PBOC. He began as vice secretary general at the Monetary Policy Committee of PBOC and went on to head the central bank's monetary policy department. Yi became assistant governor of the PBOC in 2004. He was the deputy governor of the bank from 2007 until 2009 when he became chief of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. He was promoted to vice director of the General Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs in 2014.
Liu Kun has elected as the new finance minister. The former head of the budget office of parliament graduated from Xiamen University with a major in economics. Liu was the head of the finance department of Guangdong Province before becoming vice minister of the Finance Ministry.
In addition, Zhong Shan was re-elected as commerce minister. He Lifeng was also re-elected as the head of the NDRC. Guan Xin, CGTN