China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress, has given its seal of approval for a new cabinet lineup headed by Premier Li Keqiang, who was re-elected to a second term on Sunday.
The new State Council, or cabinet, consists of four vice premiers: Han Zheng, former party secretary of the eastern metropolis of Shanghai; Sun Chunlan, head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department; Hu Chunhua, party secretary of the southern province of Guangdong; and Liu He, top economic adviser to President Xi Jinping.
The State Council, rounded up with four councilors including Wang Yi, the country’s foreign minister, will oversee the 26 ministries established after a major government overhaul that the National People’s Congress approved on Saturday. Xiao Jie, a state councilor in the new cabinet, will serve as secretary-general.
The legislature appointed the governor of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, Lu Hao, to head the newly established Ministry of Natural Resources.
Li Ganjie, head of the soon-defunct Ministry of Environmental Protection, will head the Ministry of Ecological Environment, another new central government body created after the shakeup.
Wang Yupu, from the State Administration of Work Safety, was appointed minister of Emergency Management, a new agency to manage operations in the aftermath of natural disasters or fire hazards.
Sun Shaopin, a former deputy minister for Civil Affairs, will head the Ministry of Veteran Affairs, the first such organization in China, which aims to strengthen coordination between the cabinet and the army.
Wei Fenghe, a member of the powerful Central Military Commission headed by Xi, was appointed minister of national defense. Fu Zhenghua, a former Beijing police chief linked to a high-profile campaign in 2010 against prostitution at upmarket entertainment venues, was appointed minister of justice.
Yi Gang, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, was promoted to head the central bank, succeeding Zhou Xiaochuan, the country’s longest-serving central bank governor, who retired after a 15-year stint.
(Source:Jiangsu International Channel)
