China’s Communist party will appoint Guo Shuqing as party secretary of the central bank, according to two people familiar with the decision. Mr Guo’s promotion elevates him above newly appointed central bank governor Yi Gang and underscores President Xi Jinping’s efforts to exert party control over the civil bureaucracy.
Like Mr Yi, the English-speaking Mr Guo is seen as an experienced, liberal-minded reformer who understands financial markets and the concerns of foreign investors. But Mr Guo’s greater political heft will supplement the technocratic expertise of the former economics professor Mr Yi, whom China’s rubber-stamp parliament approved as central bank chief last week.
“It does undercut Yi Gang’s authority at the central bank, there’s no question about that,” said a person briefed on Mr Guo’s appointment, which was first reported by the New York Times.