He Lifeng

In June 2014 he was named deputy Party secretary of the National Development and Reform Commission and also deputy director (minister-level). Since then he has emerged as one of the chief figures in charge of advancing economic reform policies.^[7]

In February 2017 he was appointed the chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.^[8][4] In September 2019, he published an article at the People's Daily, saying Shenzhen faced "unprecedented new tasks", and that the "problems encountered in the modernization of our country are likely to appear in Shenzhen first".^[9] In another article in the People's Daily in October 2021, he called for reducing emissions in a safe and secure way.^[10] In October 2022, he pledged to support the digital economy during a report to the National People's Congress Standing Committee.^[11]

After the 20th Party National Congress, he was elected as a member of the 20th CCP Politburo. In February 2023, he visited the People's Bank of China.^[12] On 12 March 2023, he was appointed a vice premier of the State Council, and became responsible for economic and financial affairs.^[2] According to Bloomberg News, he will have all the financial regulators, including the People's Bank of China and the newly created super financial watchdog, under his purview. He will also oversee the property industry as well as the $60 trillion financial sector.^[13]

In April 2023, he attended the China International Consumer Product Expo in Haikou, Hainan, where he said the expansion of consumption was a top priority.^[14] In May 2023, he attended the opening of the National Financial Regulatory Administration.^[15] In October 2023, he formally succeeded Liu He as the director of the Office of the CCP Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission.^[16] He was also named as the director of the Office of the Central Financial Commission and the secretary of the Central Financial Work Commission in November.^[17][18] In October 2023, at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, He said China encouraged "companies from all countries to focus on big data, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and new energy".^[19] In November 2023, He gave a pre-recorded remark to the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit in Hong Kong, praising the city's "unique advantage as an international financial center".^[20]

In January 2024, He called for officials to support performance and profitability of listed in during a nationwide teleconference.^[21] In July 2024, he met with a delegation of the US-China Business Council, calling on US companies to "play a strong role" in China's economy.^[22] In an article in People's Daily in the same month, he called for promoting new productive forces through a well-coordinated government and efficient market.^[23] In October 2024, during a visit to Taiyuan, Shanxi, He called for a targeted "white list" of real estate projects to stabilize the real estate market.^[24] In April 2025, He attended a symposium in Shanghai, where he called on to "strengthen Shanghai’s role as a gateway for financial opening up, on the premise of safeguarding financial security" and increase the city's status as a global hub.^[25] In October 2025, during a meeting of the International Advisory Council of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, He said that "China will unswervingly expand high-level opening up in the financial sector and accelerate the building of a modern financial powerhouse".^[26] In November 2025, He undertook a three-day inspection tour to Hubei and Hunan, where he visited trade logistics companies, export-oriented manufacturers and consumer-sector companies.^[27]

He has been China's top representative in China's economic relations with several developed economies, having been named the "lead person" in dialogues with the European Union, France, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom.^[28] He met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen when she visited China in July 2023 and April 2024.^[29] In July 2023, he visited Pakistan for talks about the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.^[30] He visited the United States in November 2023 and met with Janet Yellen in San Francisco before the APEC summit.^[31] He also visited Russia in December 2023, where he met Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.^[32]

In January 2025, he met with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, where they both called for closer economic cooperation and the renewal of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue.^[33] In May 2025, He met with United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Geneva to de-escalate China-United States trade war.^[34] In June 2025, he led the Chinese delegates to London with commerce ministers Li Chenggang and Wang Wentao and met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The meeting resulted on a framework for trade negotiations to resolve disputes on technology and mineral exports.^[35][36][37] In November 2025, He met with German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil as part of the biannual financial dialogue talks between the two countries.^[38]