The trend of appointing senior executives from state-owned banks to top regional political positions is continuing in China, with Jilin the latest province to follow suit.
On 17 October the government of Jilin province in north-eastern China approved the appointment of Cai Dong (蔡东), vice-president and executive director of Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), to the position of provincial vice-governor.
Cai was appointed to the position of ABC vice-president just six months ago on 12 April, when he was also named as a candidate for board membership. ABC announced Cai’s resignation from the position on 14 October.
51-year old Cai holds a master’s degree in economics from the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences, and previously worked at Shandong Normal University, before assuming a succession of positions at Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), including vice-general manager of the accounts and settlement department, vice-general manager of the electronic banking department, and head of the Tianjin branch.
In July 2016 Cai was appointed vice-president of policy lender China Development Bank, before officially joining ABC in May of this year.
Cai is the latest in a long list of senior executives from the banking and finance sectors in China to be appointed as provincial vice-governor.
A total of 16 province-level administrative entities in China have appointed vice-governors from financial backgrounds, including Tianjin, Jilin, Shandong, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Fujian, Liaoning, Shanxi, Guizhou and Hebei .
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