State Council said to prepare for elevation of finance department

China’s State Council has established a new working group in preparation for the upgrading of its financial department to a bureau-level entity amid growing concerns over what many have viewed as regulatory missteps, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources. The group, which would mark a greater supervisory role in finance for the council, will be headed by deputy secretary-general Xiao Jie. Another report from Bloomberg, also citing unnamed sources, said the council, which serves as China’s cabinet, had created a new department within its general office to coordinate between economic and financial regulators that would be headed by Li Zhenjiang, vice president of the Agricultural Bank of China.