From folk singer to international finance expert - Liao Min is a new face on China’s trade team in Washington
Liao Min, a well-known campus folk singer in the late 1980s, has a long career in banking and international finance and is part of the inner circle dealing with US trade threats
On the official list of the Beijing delegation that arrived in Washington on Tuesday for trade talks, there is a new name.
Liao Min, a well-known folk singer during his university days in the late 1980s, is now deputy director of the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, the inner party economic policymaking body, and is among those in the US with Liu He, China’s vice-premier and the top economic adviser to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
It marks the first time for Liao’s new title has been made public. Liao previously worked as a director of the International Economics Bureau of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, the predecessor to the commission.
Liao, 49, is considered a rising star among China’s economic policymakers for his international finance experience. A source who knows him from his early years says Liao is a fluent English speaker who started his career as a trader with proficiency in both Reuters and Bloomberg data terminals.
In his new capacity, Liao plays a key role in drafting China’s policies and tactics in dealing with US trade threats.