The shadowy office at centre of China’s economic policymaking

The presence of Yang Weimin, a deputy director at the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, at a press conference on Tuesday themed on the environment displayed the power of his shadowy office.

While Yang is a deputy in his office and holds no formal position in the government, he is ranked higher than Li Ganjie, China’s environment minister, at the Communist Party congress in Beijing.

Yang’s office has no website, no external telephone number and not even a public address, but there is little doubt that it has become the “nerve centre” of China’s economic policymaking over the past five years as President Xi Jinping has concentrated economic decisionmaking around the body.

Here are key facts about the office that serves the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs – one of the many leading groups headed by Xi.

1. What’s the role of the general office?

It provides advice on a range of strategic issues from the housing market to water resources. According to an article published on the party’s website, the office of the leading group makes decisions on China’s macro economy, which the economic planning agency the National Development and Reform Commission then implements.