China’s Top Legislature Approves New Cabinet
China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress, has given its seal of approval for a new cabinet lineup headed by Premier Li Keqiang, who was re-elected to a second term on Sunday.
The new State Council, or cabinet, consists of four vice premiers: Han Zheng, former party secretary of the eastern metropolis of Shanghai; Sun Chunlan, head of the Communist Party’s United Front Work Department; Hu Chunhua, party secretary of the southern province of Guangdong; and Liu He, top economic adviser to President Xi Jinping.
Han, 63, is one of the seven members of the all-important Standing Committee of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo. The other three are on the 25-member Politburo, a key decision-making body within the party.
The State Council, rounded up with four councilors including Wang Yi, the country’s foreign minister, will oversee the 26 ministries established after a major government overhaul that the National People’s Congress approved on Saturday. Xiao Jie, a state councilor in the new cabinet, will serve as secretary-general.
The legislature appointed the governor of the northeastern province of Heilongjiang, Lu Hao, to head the newly established Ministry of Natural Resources.
Li Ganjie, head of the soon-defunct Ministry of Environmental Protection, will head the Ministry of Ecological Environment, another new central government body created after the shakeup.
Wang Yupu, from the State Administration of Work Safety, was appointed minister of Emergency Management, a new agency to manage operations in the aftermath of natural disasters or fire hazards.
Sun Shaopin, a former deputy minister for Civil Affairs, will head the Ministry of Veteran Affairs, the first such organization in China, which aims to strengthen coordination between the cabinet and the army.
Wei Fengwu, a member of the powerful Central Military Commission headed by Xi, was appointed minister of national defense. Fu Zhenhua, a former Beijing police chief linked to a high-profile campaign in 2010 against prostitution at upmarket entertainment venues, was appointed minister of justice.
Yi Gang, a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China, was promoted to head the central bank, succeeding Zhou Xiaochuan, the country’s longest-serving central bank governor, who retired after a 15-year stint.
Below is a list of state leaders and government agencies.
![]() |
Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com)
Read more on China’s latest government overhaul
- 1Cover Story: China’s Factory Exodus Is Turning Vietnam Into the World’s Assembler
- 2Meituan Enters Open-Source AI Race With LongCat Model
- 3Ex-UBS Banker in Hong Kong Jailed 10 Years for Laundering $17.2 Million
- 4End of U.S. Tax Exemption Hits Chinese Air Cargo Carriers Differently
- 5Alipay Fined by Luxembourg Regulator for Anti-Money Laundering Breaches
- 1Power To The People: Pintec Serves A Booming Consumer Class
- 2Largest hotel group in Europe accepts UnionPay
- 3UnionPay mobile QuickPass debuts in Hong Kong
- 4UnionPay International launches premium catering privilege U Dining Collection
- 5UnionPay International’s U Plan has covered over 1600 stores overseas