IMF taps China's vice-minister for role

The expected succession of International Monetary Fund Deputy Managing Director Li Bo by a veteran Chinese fiscal policymaker would maintain continuity in China's representation, experts said.

This could also offer an additional perspective on the fund's work on sovereign debt restructuring and macroeconomic policy coordination, they added.

Liao Min, China's vice-minister of finance, will bring experience across financial regulation, fiscal policymaking and international consultations that could help economies to better balance their respective domestic policy priorities with the need for multilateral cooperation, they said.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement published on the fund's website on Wednesday that she had proposed Liao to succeed Li as deputy managing director. Li's term ends on Nov 30. The proposed appointment would take effect on Dec 1.

Georgieva noted Liao's more than three decades of experience in banking, financial regulation and macroeconomic governance.

"He has been deeply engaged in global macropolicy coordination and in bilateral and multilateral fiscal, financial and trade cooperation. His experience at the intersection of domestic reform and international economic cooperation will be a tremendous asset to the fund and our membership," she said.

Since 2011, three Chinese nationals — Zhu Min, Zhang Tao and Li Bo — have successively held the IMF deputy managing director's position. All three had previously served as deputy governors of the People's Bank of China, China's central bank.

Liao has served as vice-minister of finance since 2018, after earlier roles in central banking and financial regulation.

The proposed appointment suggests that, alongside maintaining China's representation, the IMF is placing greater emphasis on aligning leadership expertise with its evolving priorities, said Dong Ximiao, chief economist at Merchants Union Consumer Finance and executive director of the Shanghai Institution for Finance and Development.

As fiscal sustainability, sovereign debt restructuring and fiscal-monetary policy coordination draw more attention, Dong said that Liao's understanding of domestic policy constraints could help facilitate debt restructuring discussions and support dialogue during the IMF's country surveillance process.

At the second G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting of 2026, Liao said that with the global economy facing multiple challenges, the G20 should further practice true multilateralism, strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination and work toward stronger global growth.

He also urged members to uphold free trade, promote universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and create a favorable policy environment for international trade and capital flows.

Liao's experience in the G20's finance discussions and bilateral fiscal and financial consultations could help turn expectations into practical cooperation, said Tian Lihui, a finance professor at Nankai University in Tianjin.

His engagement in international fiscal and financial consultations could help bridge policy differences and facilitate dialogue among debtor countries, creditors and international institutions, Tian said.