A key figure was missing from the two-day Central Conference on Financial Affairs that ended last Saturday.
Huang Ju, who ranks sixth on the nine-member standing committee of the Politburo, is in charge of China’s financial affairs. It was reported that Huang has handed over his power overseeing financial affairs to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao.
It will be revealing if Huang, who is a key member of the Shanghai clique headed by former president Jiang Zemin, has in fact lost his power ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s)17th National Congress this autumn. Huang supposedly dropped his official functions due to worsening health, reported the Hong Kong Economic Times. Wen takes charge of financial affairs with the assistance of Huang Jianmin, general secretary of the State Council. [Full Text]
See also: The Great Firewall Ban “Huang Ju” on CDT.