3 named to fill key economic positions
Top legislature also names deputy chief of Supreme People’s Procuratorate
The appointments of new heads for three posts that are key to China’s economy were announced on Friday.
China’s top legislature appointed He Lifeng, 62, as the new head of the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic regulatory body, on Friday.
He replaced Xu Shaoshi, 65, who is due to retire.
The commission is one of the most powerful decisionmaking bodies, responsible for drafting development plans and supervising pricing and key industries.
He has been vice-minister of the commission since 2014 and was in charge of regional economic development.
Before joining the NDRC, He was deputy Party secretary of Tianjin municipality from 2009 to 2012. One of his focuses was development of the Binhai New Area, the first national innovative zone approved by the State Council.
He holds a PhD in economics from Xiamen University in Fujian province.
Meanwhile , Zhong Shan has been appointed as the new commerce minister.
Zhong, 61, former China international trade representative and vice-minister of commerce, will replace 66-year-old Gao Hucheng.
Before serving in the ministry, Zhong was vice-governor of Zhejiang province and head of a number of State-owned trading companies.
Unlike his predecessor, who has a strong background in finance, Zhong has rich experience in making trade and investment policies, according to the Center for China and Globalization, a Beijing think tank.
Li Gang, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said, “As China faces a complex global political and economic situation ... Zhong’s main job will be to ensure that China will continue to promote a multilateral global trade system.”
The Party also announced that Shandong Governor Guo Shuqing has resigned from his position to become head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission. He replaces Shang Fulin, who has been CBRC chairman since October 2011.
China’s top legislature named on Friday a new minister of justice and a deputy chief of the top procuratorate as the country continues to press forward on fortifying the rule of law.
Zhang Jun was named Minister of Justice to replace Wu Aiying, and Xu Xianming was appointed deputy chief procurator of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress at its bimonthly meeting.
Zhang, 60, formerly deputy head of China’s top anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, is not new to the ministry and had served as vice-minister of justice from 2003 to 2005.
A native of Shandong prov- ince and a law school graduate, Zhang started his career at the Supreme People’s Court in 1985 and has worked in the legal system since then.
At the top court, he served mainly as a criminal trial, and also conducted research. He joined the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in November 2012.
Wu, 65, has worked at the Justice Ministry for more than 10 years. The standard retirement age for a minister in China is 65.
Xu Xianming, a 59-year-old legal scholar, became deputy head of the NPC Law Com- mittee in 2013 and later served as a senior official in the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.
He has helped draft many laws, such as the draft provisions for a new, unified Chinese Civil Code, which will be submitted for reading at next month’s NPC annual plenary meeting.
Changes of leaders at the top procuratorate are widely watched at this moment because a new chief procurator of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate is expected to be elected by the NPC in March 2018.
Yang Weidong, a law professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, closely followed the personnel changes on Friday and said “a series of judicial challenges are waiting for our solutions”.
Previously, procuratorates were responsible for prosecutions as well as probes of official corruption and dereliction of duty, but now China is piloting a supervisory system and setting up supervisory commissions. “I hope there will be more clarity on prosecutors’ roles and better integrated judicial resources,” Yang said.
The Ministry of Justice faces many tasks, such as pressing forward with judicial reforms, better protecting lawyers’ rights and better managing of prisons, he said.
“No matter who heads these legal authorities, speeding up the reforms and pushing forward the rule of law continues unabated,” Yang added.
On Friday, the NPC Standing Committee also appointed Huang Qifan, former mayor of Chongqing, as vicechairman of the NPC Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.
Zhu Xiaodan, former Guangdong governor and Yang Xiong, former Shanghai mayor, were also named vicechairmen of the committee.