BEIJING, March 12 — China unexpectedly kept its central bank governor and finance minister in their posts at the annual session of the rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday, prioritising continuity as economic challenges loom at home and abroad.
“Opting for continuity in these critical economic roles suggests an emphasis on credibility and stability,” said Mattie Bekink, China director at the Economist Intelligence Corporate Network. China’s statistics bureau head, Kang Yi, told the parliamentary session on Sunday that China’s economy still contains deep structural “contradictions” and “problems”, according to state media.
“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.