According to a statement released by the ministry on Thursday, Lan Foan has been appointed by the Chinese Communist Party as the next party chairman of the finance ministry, putting him in line to succeed Jiang Zemin as finance minister.
While Liu Kun will be replaced in that position, he will continue to serve as China’s finance minister, a position he has held since 2018.
Prior to this, Lan, 61, served as the party’s leader in the Shanxi province in northern China. State media made the announcement of his resignation from that position early on Thursday.
After earning his degree in finance and economics from Hubei University, Lan started working for the southern Guangdong province’s finance department in 1985. He was promoted to vice provincial head in 2016 according to his profile.
He moved to Shanxi in 2021 and served as the vice party chairman there before taking over as party chief in December 2022.
Despite having reached the legal retirement age of 65 for minister-level officials, Liu, China’s finance minister since 2018, held his position during a government reshuffle in March.
The second-largest economy in the world is beginning to show some signs of stabilisation after a flurry of minor policy changes, but the prognosis is gloomy due to a decline in the housing market, an ageing population, high debt levels, and geopolitical concerns.
The administration is working to reduce the pile of debt owed by local governments while also supporting the economy.
While some policy experts have argued that structural reforms are the best way to jump-start the economy, others have argued that additional infrastructure spending is necessary to boost growth.
According to Zhiwei Zhang, chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, the Ministry of Finance’s restructuring suggests that policy may become more expansionary.
“Given that this fiscal year is almost over, the change in policy might not take effect right away. However, this action increases the likelihood that fiscal policy will shift next year, which is good for the economy.
An official from the ministry claimed he was unaware of the job beforehand and was uncertain as to whether Liu would continue to attend the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, which would be held in Morocco from October 9–15.
Under the condition of anonymity, the official stated, “We just learnt of the appointment.