China: Wang named top diplomat, may lead border talks with India
BEIJING: Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi was elevated to the top diplomatic position of state councillor on Monday, a move that could make him the new special representative for IndiaChina boundary talks, officials said.
Wang, 65, would also continue to head the foreign ministry, becoming the first official to hold the dual post in recent years.
In Chinese power hierarchy, the state councillor is ranked higher than the foreign minister. The state councillor is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the policies of the ruling Communist Party.
Wang’s elevation was endorsed by the National People’s Congress, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang proposed Wang’s name as part of a new set of officials to head various posts for the next five years.
XI CONFIDANTE MADE VICE PREMIER
China elevated a key confidante of President Xi Jinping to one of the top positions in government on Monday as Beijing cracks down on riskier financing and a debt build-up that may pose systemic risks to the world’s secondlargest economy.
The election of Liu He by parliament to be a vice premier also comes as the US presses China to cut its trade surplus by $100 billion.
Harvard-educated Liu, 66, has a deep understanding of the country’s economic issues, and was elected into the 25-member Politburo — the second-highest tier in Beijing’s political power structure — in October.