In brief
The IMF’s managing director announced Li Bo will leave his deputy post on November 30, 2026, and that Liao Min, China’s Vice Minister of Finance, will take over on December 1. Li has led IMF work with around 90 member nations, while Liao brings more than three decades of banking and finance experience.
On Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director announced that its deputy, Li Bo, will step down on November 30, 2026, and that China’s Vice Minister of Finance, Liao Min, will assume the position on December 1.
Li Bo joined the IMF in August 2021 and, during his tenure as deputy managing director, helped steer the institution through a period the fund described as “some of the most turbulent years for the global economy.” His responsibilities spanned policy work in roughly 90 member countries, covering issues from economic growth to financial stability.
In a statement, managing director Kristalina Georgieva praised Li’s conduct at the fund: ‘Li has helped guide the fund “through some of the most turbulent years for the global economy with steady judgment, intellectual rigor, and a quiet kindness that people across the institution have come to value deeply.”’
Li has helped guide the fund “through some of the most turbulent years for the global economy with steady judgment, intellectual rigor, and a quiet kindness that people across the institution have come to value deeply.”
Georgieva highlighted Liao’s experience, noting he has “more than three decades of experience in banking, financial regulation and macroeconomic governance.” Liao has been serving as China’s vice minister of finance since May 2018, a role that places him within the country’s top economic policy team.
The announcement signals a transition of leadership that reflects the IMF’s ongoing engagement with China’s role in global economic governance. It also underscores the importance of continuity in the institution’s work with a broad array of member states as it faces evolving macroeconomic challenges.
