New finance chief likely to hold course

As China announced the appointment of a new finance minister on Monday, analysts said major fiscal policies will not change and the country can use more policy tools to help anchor its economic growth.

Xiao Jie, a former tax chief and deputy finance minister, is the new minister, according to a decision passed at a bimonthly meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

Xiao, 59, who is currently deputy secretary-general of the State Council, worked in the Ministry of Finance from 1982 until 2005. He was head of the State Administration of Taxation from 2007 to 2013.