China creates new office to coordinate finance, economy

Beijing

CHINA'S Cabinet has created a new department to coordinate financial and economic affairs, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the country's leaders seek to restore investor confidence in the government's regulation of markets.

The department under the State Council's general office is tasked with coordinating between China's financial and economic regulators and gathering data from local offices, according the source, who asked not to be identified because the move has not been publicly announced. Agricultural Bank of China vice-president Li Zhenjiang was tapped as deputy director responsible for its daily operations and took the new post last week, the source said.