He Lifeng

He Lifeng (; born February 1955) is a Chinese economist and politician who has served as vice premier of China since March 2023, responsible for economic and financial affairs. He has additionally been a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since October 2022, and served as the director of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission under CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping since October 2023.

Earlier in his career, he worked in Fujian province and Tianjin. He has held a number of significant posts, including Party secretary of Fuzhou, party secretary of Xiamen, party secretary of Binhai New Area, deputy party secretary of Tianjin, Chairman of the Tianjin People's Political Consultative Conference, and, since 2014, a deputy director of the NDRC. He served as the chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) from February 2017 to March 2023.

Early life He was born in Yongding County, Fujian into a Hakka family whose ancestral roots are usually traced to Xingning, Guangdong. In August 1973 he went to Yongding County as a sent-down youth. In November 1976, he participated in the construction of the Shixiangtan Hydroelectric Dam. After the resumption of the National College Entrance Examination, he gained admission to the Xiamen University school of economics; he studied finance. He obtained a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and earned his Ph.D. through part-time studies in 1998.

In July 1984, Wang Yishi, the vice governor of Fujian, came to the home of He Lifeng's mentor Deng Ziji and asked Deng to recommend a student to support the construction of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone. He Lifeng was recommended to become a cadre of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone Economic Research Institute and thus began his career in the government. In October, he began working for the Xiamen municipal government, beginning his career in politics.

Local careers He worked in Fujian province for some 25 years. He worked successively in Xiamen, Quanzhou, Fuzhou During this time, he cultivated close ties to CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping, who also worked in Fujian at the time; he reportedly attended Xi's wedding ceremony with Peng Liyuan. In Xiamen he headed the city's finance department (at the time, Xi Jinping was vice mayor of Xiamen). In 1990 he was promoted to party head of a city district. By February 1995 he was made mayor of Quanzhou, then party secretary. He earned a doctorate in economics at around this time. In April 2000, he became Fuzhou party secretary, by December 2001, he joined the Fujian provincial Party Standing Committee. At the beginning of 2003, he attended report meeting on the construction of the Party style and clean government in Fuzhou. During his tenure in Tianjin, he oversaw infrastructure projects to boost Tianjin's economy.

In February 2017 he was appointed the chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. In another article in the People's Daily in October 2021, he called for reducing emissions in a safe and secure way. In October 2022, he pledged to support the digital economy during a report to the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Vice premier After the 20th Party National Congress, he was elected as a member of the 20th CCP Politburo. In February 2023, he visited the People's Bank of China. On 12 March 2023, he was appointed a vice premier of the State Council, and became responsible for economic and financial affairs. thumb

In April 2023, he attended the China International Consumer Product Expo in Haikou, Hainan, where he said the expansion of consumption was a top priority. In May 2023, he attended the opening of the National Financial Regulatory Administration. In October 2023, he formally succeeded Liu He as the director of the Office of the CCP Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission. He was also named as the director of the Office of the Central Financial Commission and the secretary of the Central Financial Work Commission in November. In October 2023, at the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, He said China encouraged "companies from all countries to focus on big data, artificial intelligence, e-commerce and new energy". In November 2023, He gave a pre-recorded remark to the Global Financial Leaders’ Investment Summit in Hong Kong, praising the city's "unique advantage as an international financial center". In January 2024, He called for officials to support performance and profitability of listed in during a nationwide teleconference. In July 2024, he met with a delegation of the US-China Business Council, calling on US companies to "play a strong role" in China's economy. In an article in People's Daily in the same month, he called for promoting new productive forces through a well-coordinated government and efficient market. In October 2024, during a visit to Taiyuan, Shanxi, He called for a targeted "white list" of real estate projects to stabilize the real estate market.

In April 2025, He attended a symposium in Shanghai, where he called on to "strengthen Shanghai’s role as a gateway for financial opening up, on the premise of safeguarding financial security" and increase the city's status as a global hub. In the summer of 2025, He asked China's largest companies about the possible impact of artificial intelligence on employment. After hearing of major possible job cuts, the Chinese government in late 2025 warned companies, especially tech companies with younger workforces, to not cut jobs. In October 2025, during a meeting of the International Advisory Council of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, He said that "China will unswervingly expand high-level opening up in the financial sector and accelerate the building of a modern financial powerhouse". In November 2025, He undertook a three-day inspection tour to Hubei and Hunan, where he visited trade logistics companies, export-oriented manufacturers and consumer-sector companies. In June 2026, he attended the annual Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, where he said China would strengthen legal protections against unilateral sanctions, adding "We don’t stir up trouble … but we are absolutely not afraid of it".

Foreign relations 20 January 2026 – House of Switzerland at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos: Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis and State Secretary Helene Budliger Artieda welcome He Lifeng and Li Chenggang for talks on bilateral relations. He has been China's top representative in China's economic relations with several developed economies, having been named the "lead person" in dialogues with the European Union, France, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen when she visited China in July 2023 and April 2024. In July 2023, he visited Pakistan for talks about the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. He visited the United States in November 2023 and met with Janet Yellen in San Francisco before the APEC summit. He also visited Russia in December 2023, where he met Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

In January 2025, he met with UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, where they both called for closer economic cooperation and the renewal of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue. In May 2025, He met with United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Geneva to de-escalate China-United States trade war. In June 2025, he led the Chinese delegates to London with commerce ministers Li Chenggang and Wang Wentao and met with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The meeting resulted on a framework for trade negotiations to resolve disputes on technology and mineral exports. In November 2025, He met with German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil as part of the biannual financial dialogue talks between the two countries.