BEIJING: China has appointed veteran banker Ding Xiangqun as the Communist Party committee chief of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, according to a statement released by the regulator on Friday (May 29).

Ding, most recently chairperson of state-owned insurance giant the People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China, is also likely to become the director of the top regulatory body, with both roles traditionally held by the same person. 

Beijing is taking steps to stabilise leadership at the NFRA after former head Li Yunze was demoted in April due to what was treated as a suspected disciplinary violation, Reuters reported.

More widely, the government is in the process of a sweeping financial-sector cleanup, targeting corruption and consolidating its supervisory control over the industry. 

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In recent months, several high-ranking financial officials have been investigated or removed from their positions.

The NFRA oversees thousands of financial firms including banks, insurers and trust firms in China’s US$79 trillion financial sector.

Ding, 61, was elevated to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in July 2024, becoming the first woman from the financial sector to join the roughly 200-member body that ranks below the Politburo in the party’s power structure.

At PICC, which she joined in 2024, Ding has overseen one of China’s largest insurance conglomerates with operations spanning property, casualty, life insurance and asset management.

Her early career included a two-decade stint at Bank of China. She has also worked at China Taiping Insurance Group and China Development Bank, and served as deputy head of the government of Guangxi region.