An outspoken finance minister retires

Business & Technology

Former finance chief Lou Jiwei “came to office in 2013 promising to change the system and restructure local government debt. He failed on both counts: local government spending as a share of the total has risen from about 65 percent in 2001 to about 85 percent in 2015, transfers from the center have widened, and local governments’ borrowing has increased.”

Credit: SHANGHAI, CHINA - FEBRUARY 27: (CHINA OUT) China's Finance Minister Lou Jiwei attends a press conference during the first G20 Finance Ministers And Central Bank Governors Meeting at the headquarters of the People's Bank of China on February 27, 2016 in Shanghai, China. The meeting will be held on February 26-27 in Shanghai. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)