Beijing promotes foreign minister
Move comes amid rocky relations with US
BEIJING: China elevated the status of its current foreign minister and selected a new defence minister as the country deals with rocky relations with the United States and expands its military.
The rubber-stamp National People’s Congress endorsed the appointment of Foreign Minister Wang Yi, 64, as state councillor, making him a ranking member of the country’s “Cabinet”.
He replaces Yang Jiechi, China’s former top diplomat, who was tipped for a leading role in managing Beijing’s increasingly uncertain relations with the United States under President Donald Trump.
While Yang was known for his good relationships with former US officials, it is unclear what advantages Wang, who was once ambassador to Japan, would have for handling the sensitive relationship at a time of growing trade tensions.
China’s chief diplomat also faces ongoing regional maritime disputes in the South China Sea, with Beijing facing criticism over its construction of artificial islands capable of hosting military equipment.
Yesterday’s government reshuffle included the naming of General Wei Fenghe, 64, as minister of defence. He was formerly the head of China’s strategic missile force and is seen as having played a key role in President Xi Jinping’s effort to reform the military.
Earlier this month, Beijing announced an 8.1% increase in military spending in 2018 as it seeks to modernise its forces and expand its capabilities.
Wang and Wei were among a raft of appointments approved by the parliament, including US-educated economic reformer Yi Gang as the new governor of the central bank and Fu Zhenghua as the new minister of justice.
Xi also reshaped his core economic team, promoting two trusted, US-educated lieutenants to key positions at a time of escalating trade tensions with Washington and concerns over a growing debt mountain.
Parliament approved the nomination of Xi’s influential adviser Liu He, a Harvardeducated Communist Party official, who as vice-premier is expected to oversee the financial and economic sectors.
The deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), Yi Gang, was elevated to head the central bank, replacing Zhou Xiaochuan, another advocate of reforms who had held the job since 2002.
The appointments were made at an annual session of the National People’s Congress that has boosted Xi’s influence on the world’s second-largest economy, with presidential term limits abolished and his name added to the constitution.
The reshuffle gives Xi trusted hands at the economic controls as China faces the prospect of a tit-for-tat trade war with the United States and concerns that ballooning debt has made the country vulnerable to a potential crisis.
Liu travelled to Washington earlier this month and met with US officials at the White House, but his trip has not stopped Trump from considering new trade measures against China.
“The most important task is carrying out a stable monetary policy, and at the same time pushing forward financial reform and opening, while maintaining financial stability,” Yi told reporters after his appointment.
“There will be a series of reform and opening policies and measures to come,” Yi said, according to the central bank’s news outlet
Financial News.
While at the PBOC, Yi has called for greater market access for foreign investors and further internationalisation of China’s currency.
At a press conference earlier in the annual parliamentary session, Yi said the central bank would work to push through reforms that will bring about “equal treatment for domestic and foreign investors”.
He specifically cited liberalisation of China’s financial sector, by “allowing greater access or eliminating restrictions on foreign ownership” altogether. — AFP