Yang Xiaodu: he who will become the most feared man in China

Yang Xiaodu is about to become the most feared man in China, given iron-fisted oversight of government employees.­

Yang Xiaodu takes the oath of office at the National People's Congress in Beijing yesterday. Picture: AFP.

Yang Xiaodu is about to become the most feared man in China ­following his election by the ­National People’s Congress as the inaugural director of the National Supervisory Commission, given iron-fisted oversight of government employees at even the lowest level.

China’s new ministerial team was also announced yesterday, when defence and foreign affairs, whose budgets are being boosted the most this year, took centre stage along with the appointment of President Xi Jinping’s economic adviser Liu He as the top Vice-Premier.

The head of missile command, Wei Fenghe, was promoted to Defence Minister in a line-up unveiled after the formal re-election of Li Keqiang as Premier for a further five years.

General Wei takes over the fast-modernising, two million- strong People’s Liberation Army, which receives this year an 8.1 per cent budget boost, although he is subordinate to Mr Xi, who is chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The suave Wang Yi was reappointed Foreign Minister and promoted to State Councillor — reinforcing, with diplomat Yang Jiechi’s promotion to the Politburo last October, China’s enhanced focus on building its international status and influence.

The former deputy head of the communist party’s anti-corruption agency the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Mr Yang’s commission will operate separately from the judicial system. Mr Yang, a Politburo member who worked alongside Mr Xi in Shanghai, will answer directly not to the government but to the NPC, the parliament whose annual session concludes today.

Fu Zhenhua, who as vice-­minister of public security built a reputation for enforcing party and state control by leading China’s crackdown on lawyers, becomes Justice Minister.

He Lifeng, who stepped up to become chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s chief planning agency, has been confirmed in the position for a further five years, as was Zhong Shan, who a year ago became Commerce Minister, taking responsibility for overseeing the implementation of the free-trade agreement with Australia.

The new Finance Minister is Liu Kun, who worked in the industrial province of Guangdong before taking responsibility for the NPC’s budget. He takes on the challenge of enhancing China’s complex fiscal structure.

The elevation of Harvard-­educated Mr Liu, a member of the Politburo, adds high government status to his range of responsibilities and confirms he will guide China’s economic and financial policies in close collaboration with Yi Gang, who was yesterday appointed to succeed the veteran Zhou Xiaochuan as governor of the People’s Bank of China.

The other new Vice-Premiers are Han Zheng, a former Shanghai party secretary; Hu Chunhua, a former Guangdong party secretary; and Sun Chunlan, the former head of the party’s United Front department and the only woman left in a senior position in either the government or party.

Liu Hao, viewed as a “Young Turk” in China’s power elite at 50, takes over as head of the new Ministry of Natural Resources. A decade ago Mr Liu became head of the Communist Youth League, which was viewed as a rival faction to Mr Xi as the latter ascended the hierarchy. But the league’s influence has been so effectively dismantled that Mr Xi is starting to accommodate its leaders into senior positions.

Mr Hu is also a former youth league leader.