BEIJING, China – China unexpectedly kept its central bank governor and finance minister in their posts at the annual session of the rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday, March 12, prioritizing continuity as economic challenges loom at home and abroad.
“It is also perhaps a tacit acknowledgment of some of the challenges for Beijing at the moment,” she said. “The real challenge for this third Xi administration is whether it will address structural imbalances in China’s economy and undertake reforms necessary to ensure China’s long-term competitiveness.”, up from 3% last year, which was among the weakest performances in decades.
“The government sent a positive signal to the market by keeping these senior financial experts in the Cabinet,” said Zhang Zhiwei, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management. “The US side will be much more comfortable with someone like Yi Gang in charge,” said Alfred Wu, assistant professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.