(Yicai) Oct. 25 -- The National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, has appointed Lan Foan as the new head of the Ministry of Finance.

Lan, 61, succeeds Liu Kun as finance minister, China Central Television reported yesterday, citing a decision made by the Standing Committee of the 14th NPC made on the same day.

Lan worked for Guangdong province's financial and auditing departments between 1988 and 2017, including head of the auditing department and vice governor of the province. He was appointed party secretary in Shanxi province in April 2021 before being named acting governor in June.

Performance appraisals of fiscal expenditure are a key part of public finance reform, Lan said in a piece published in China State Finance in 2007. By appraising the performance of fiscal fund allocations, the results can be used as a key basis for budget planning, helping to standardize the source of the fund allocation and manage the 'gates' of fiscal fund expenditure, he said.

Liu, 67, was appointed finance minister in March 2018 and has exceeded China's retirement age for ministry-level officials.

During his tenure, Liu brought in big tax and fee cuts. They included lower value-added tax, excess VAT credit refunds, a higher threshold for personal income tax, special additional income tax deductions for children's education, rent, and mortgage payments, phased reductions in social security premiums, and tax cuts and exemptions to help small firms and micro businesses. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev