The Central Financial Work Commission (CFWC, ) is a commission of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

(CCP) in the process of establishment that will supervise the ideological and political role of the CCP in the

Chinese financial system The People's Republic of China has an upper middle income developing mixed socialist market economy that incorporates economic planning through industrial policies and strategic five-year plans. —Xu, Chenggang. "The Fundamental Institution ...

History

CFWC was first created in 1998 to supervise the financial system on behalf of the CCP and to prevent deviations on the part of CCP-appointed managers. It was proposed by the staff of the Central Finance and Economics Leading Group (CFELG) and pursued by Zhu Rongji with the support of

Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2004, and as p ...

and

Li Peng Li Peng (; 20 October 1928 – 22 July 2019) was a Chinese politician who served as the fourth Premier of the People's Republic of China from 1987 to 1998, and as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Ch ...

. The CFCW had political supervision and personnel authority over the

People's Bank of China The People's Bank of China (officially PBC or informally PBOC; ) is the central bank of the People's Republic of China, responsible for carrying out monetary policy and regulation of financial institutions in mainland China, as determined by ...

and state financial regulatory bodies, as well as over China's most important national firms. The Central Financial Work Commission consisted of several core departments: the Organization Department, the Financial Discipline Inspection Work Commission and the Department of Supervisory Board Work. It had about 200 officials and was ranked above ministerial level. Its operations were supervised by Executive Deputy Secretary Yan Haiwang, and it regularly reported directly to its head, CFCW Secretary

Wen Jiabao Wen Jiabao (born 15 September 1942) is a retired Chinese politician who served as the Premier of the State Council from 2003 to 2013. In his capacity as head of government, Wen was regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic polic ...

, who concurrently served as a member of the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

and as vice-premier in charge of work on finance. Wen was CFCW Secretary from 1998 until the organization's demise in 2002. Some have interpreted this to be evidence of the fact that Wen was being groomed and tested for the position of premier, since he clearly lacked the experience to run effective financial policy. The CFCW facilitated comprehensive personnel reshuffles during its existence, particularly in 1999 and 2000. The CFWC was abolished at the

16th Party Congress The 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in Beijing between November 8 and 14, 2002. It was preceded by the 15th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. 2,114 delegates and 40 specially invited delegates a ...

in late 2002, and most of its functions were transferred to state regulatory bodies.

Sebastian Heilmann Sebastian Heilmann (born 1965 in Offenbach am Main, Germany) is a German political scientist and sinologist. He serves as the founding president of the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin.Mercator Institute for China StudiesP ...

argues that the CFCW was created as part of a strategy to stop the breakdown of the hierarchies in the Chinese financial industry and to restore central policy decisiveness in the aftermath of the

Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...

. While this strategy was successful in establishing centralized supervision and homogenizing

financial regulation Financial regulation is a form of regulation or supervision, which subjects financial institutions to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines, aiming to maintain the stability and integrity of the financial system. This may be handle ...

, it failed to produce market-driven incentive structures for financial executives and clashed with nascent forms of corporate governance emerging in China. According to Heilmann, the dissolution of the CFCW constituted a major redefinition of Party control in economic regulation.

Xi Jinping era

It was reestablished in 2023 under CCP general secretary

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...

after wide-ranging reforms to change the Party and state structure, together with the Central Financial Commission. It was reported that it will supervise the ideological and political role of the CCP in the financial sector.

References

{{Economy of China Institutions of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party 1998 establishments in China 2002 disestablishments in China 2023 establishments in China Government finances in China

History

Xi Jinping era

See also

References