China appoints new finance minister

November 07 2016

China’s Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress announced on November 7 that Xiao Jie will be the new Finance Minister, replacing the long-standing reformer Lou Jiwei.

Xiao worked under Premier Li Keqiang as vice-secretary at the State Council. Before that, he headed the state tax bureau for six years.

The government decided to appoint Xiao after increasing concerns about Chinese economic growth. Bloomberg said the new minister will be “tasked with juggling fiscal stimulus and efforts to rein in excess leverage in the world’s second-largest economy”.

Topics

Anjana Haines

Managing editor ITR

Anjana manages ITR’s online and print coverage, alongside the publication’s awards and events worldwide. She covers all areas of corporate tax matters, but particularly disputes, transfer pricing arrangements and tax treaty analysis.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Direct Tax

KPMG reports 7.5% tax and legal services revenue increase

AI and assisting clients with navigating global tax reform contributed to the uptick in turnover, the firm said

Sam Sholli, December 16 2025

Direct Tax

US Treasury secretary eyes pillar two deal finalisation this week

In a post on X, Scott Bessent urged dissenting countries to the US/OECD side-by-side arrangement to ‘join the consensus’ to get a deal over the line

Tom Baker, December 16 2025

Direct Tax

Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing merger confirmed, new brand unveiled

A new transatlantic firm under the name of Winston Taylor is expected to go live in May 2026 with more than 1,400 lawyers and 20 offices

Noemi Distefano, December 15 2025

Direct Tax

Italy’s opaque tax system underlies in-house discontent, advisers say

As ITR’s exclusive data uncovers in-house dissatisfaction with case management, advisers cite Italy’s arcane tax rules

Tom Baker, December 15 2025

Direct Tax

A taxing week: HMRC’s GfC13 puts tax advisers in an unwinnable situation

The new guidance is not meant to reflect a substantial change to UK law, but the requirement that tax advice is ‘likely to be correct’ imposes unrealistic expectations

Tom Baker, December 12 2025

Direct Tax

Taylor Wessing in merger talks with US firm Winston & Strawn

Taylor Wessing, whose most recent UK revenues were £283.7m, would become part of a £1.23bn firm post combination

Tom Baker, December 12 2025

Direct Tax

Pillar two is revising global tax competition with a 15% minimum tax rate

This week in tax: China adds to growing list of US pillar two carve-out dissenters

China and a clutch of EU nations have voiced dissent after Estonia shot down the US side-by-side deal; in other news, HMRC has awarded companies contracts to help close the tax gap

Sam Sholli, December 12 2025

Direct Tax