IMF chief proposes appointment of Li Bo as deputy managing director

WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Monday announced her proposal to appoint Li Bo, currently deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), as IMF deputy managing director.

Georgieva made the announcement to the IMF Executive Board about three weeks after she said Deputy Managing Director Zhang Tao intends to conclude his service when his five-year term expires in August. Li's proposed appointment is to be effective Aug 23.

"Mr. Li brings extensive experience in central banking and law," Georgieva said in a statement, noting that during Li's more than 14 years of service at the PBOC between 2004 and 2018, he held a variety of senior positions, including as head of the legal and regulation department, and of two monetary policy departments.

"While at the PBOC, he was instrumental in supporting and implementing several important reforms and policies, including state-owned banking reform; anti-money laundering legislation; and establishing a macroprudential policy framework for China," Georgieva continued.

Li has also served in a number of other public sector positions in China. He was the vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese from 2018 to 2019. He went on to serve as vice mayor of Chongqing Municipality from 2019 to 2021, overseeing the city's financial sector development, international trade, and foreign direct investment.

Li returned to the PBOC in April 2021 to take up the position of deputy governor.

Li received his undergraduate education from Renmin University of China in Beijing. He also holds an M.A. degree in Economics from Boston University, a Ph.D. degree in Economics from Stanford University, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Prior to joining the PBOC, Li was a practicing attorney with the New York law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell for five years.

The IMF managing director is assisted by a first deputy managing director and three deputy managing directors, according to the institution's official website.

In March 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved Georgieva's appointment of Geoffrey Okamoto, a former US Treasury Department official, as the IMF's first deputy managing director, succeeding David Lipton, who took up the position in September 2011. The multilateral lender's second-highest ranking official has traditionally been an American.

The other two deputy managing directors are Antoinette Monsio Sayeh, former Minister of Finance in Liberia, and Mitsuhiro Furusawa, former Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs in Japan.