Ding Xiangqun, the new Party Secretary of China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) [Photo captured by Lianhe Zaobao. Republication and redistribution prohibited]

A female expert with extensive experience in the financial sector and government has been appointed as the second head of the newly established "super regulatory body" for finance under President Xi Jinping's third term.

According to reports from China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, Reuters, and Pengpai News on the 30th, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) announced yesterday that Ding Xiangqun (丁向群, 61) has been appointed as the new Party Secretary. By convention, she is expected to also serve as the head of the administration.

Born in 1965, Party Secretary Ding is described as a veteran who has extensive experience in the financial sector, including banks and insurance companies, and has held various local government positions.

She accumulated extensive experience at institutions such as the Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China, and China Development Bank. She then moved into the insurance industry, serving as the Vice President of Taiping Insurance Group and the Chairman of China People's Insurance Group. She also served as the Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Head of the Organization Department of Anhui Province.

The NFRA is an organization that oversees and regulates China's financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies, and trusts, with a market size of $79 trillion (approximately 119 quadrillion won). However, the securities sector is excluded from its purview.

Party Secretary Ding is also a rare figure among women with a financial background to be elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The Central Committee, positioned just below the Politburo in the CPC's power structure, consists of over 200 members.

The appointment of Party Secretary Ding comes approximately one month after foreign media reports indicated that the previous head, Li Yunze, was demoted amid allegations of disciplinary violations.

Reuters reported on the 29th of last month that Li Yunze, who was appointed as the first head of the NFRA in 2023, had been demoted.

At the time, Li Yunze had garnered attention for becoming the first minister-level official born in the 1970s to be appointed to a central government ministry.

His last public appearance was at a meeting on preventing and combating illegal financial activities held in Beijing on the 22nd of last month.

In recent years, Chinese authorities have intensified supervision of the financial industry while also expanding crackdowns on corruption within the financial sector. (Yonhap News)

Li Yunze, the former head of China's National Financial Regulatory Administration [Yonhap News Archive Photo. Republication and redistribution prohibited]