A woman counts Chinese Yuan banknotes as she sells tickets for a job fair in Beijing, China, February 11, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Lee
BEIJING: China has replaced its commerce minister and the head of its top economic planning body, state media said Friday, as the country grapples with mounting financial pressures.
Huge debt, plunging outbound investment and capital flight are troubling the world’s second largest economy.
China is also having to contend with hawkish rhetoric of US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly accused it of currency manipulation and stealing American jobs.
Zhong Shan will become minister of commerce and He Lifeng takes the reins at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the official Xinhua news agency said, without giving further details.
Zhong was deputy governor of Zhejiang when he grew close to Xi, who was the province’s Communist Party chief between 2002 and 2007.
Five years later Zhong went to Beijing to be vice commerce minister.
He’s ties to Xi go back decades, to the 1980s, when the now head of state was deputy mayor of Xiamen. - AFP
