China’s top planner dismisses concerns about slower growth
Newly appointed NDRC chief He Lifeng tells two sessions delegates that Beijing will meet 6.5 per cent growth target
He Lifeng, a close associate of President Xi Jinping and the new head of the country’s powerful economic planning agency, got off to a confident start at his first media outing, coming up with the numbers and facts to bolster his case.
Unlike his predecessor and many other ministers, the National Development and Reform Commission director made scant reference to his prepared materials when he fronted the press on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress on Monday. Instead, he kept the numbers and policy ideas coming from memory.
“That’s what he does. He speaks quickly and his delivery is concise, not long-winded. It’s his style. He enjoys a good reputation in the commission,” said a source who is familiar with He.
While He largely kept to the national policy script laid out by Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday, he also inserted ancient Chinese phrases to make his point.
He suggested that a gradual economic slowdown created good conditions for reform, saying people should “alternate tension with relaxation”, a phrase borrowed from The Book of Rites, a Confucian classic.
The NDRC is seen as a mini State Council and has the job of mapping out the overall economic and reform direction. Its first deputy director Liu He is also one of Xi’s close economic advisers and heads the office of the Leading Group of Economic and Financial Affairs, a top economic policy making body chaired by Xi.
