China’s economic mastermind Liu He steps out onto centre-stage at Davos
President’s right-hand man has been attending the annual gathering since 1993, but this time he’s the one giving the speech
President Xi Jinping is not attending Davos this year – he sent China’s economic mastermind instead. And although Liu He is no stranger to the annual gathering of the world’s business and political elite, he has not previously been the one giving the speech.
On Wednesday, Liu – who is a strong candidate to take charge of the country’s economy for the next five years – told the world’s rich and powerful in the Swiss resort town that China would open its domestic markets wider and that this year’s reform measures could “exceed the international community’s expectations”.
Liu, 66, is leading the Chinese delegation at the World Economic Forum, and he has been given the same status as the most important leaders. He is the only policymaker who is not a state leader to speak in one of 10 sessions hosted by executive chairman Klaus Schwab. Other speakers to take the chair beside Schwab include US President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Wednesday’s speech also marks the first time Liu – who is seen as the brains behind Xi’s supply-side structural reform concept – has spoken at length in public about the country’s future economic direction since he was introduced by Xi to a visiting US delegation in 2013 as a person who was “very important to me”.
Liu is the director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs and a vice-chairman of the top planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission.