China taps World Bank official for US-facing finance post

China is adding a new face to its trade negotiation team by appointing its chief representative at the World Bank to head the Finance Ministry’s international cooperation department, sources said.

Yang Yingming, who has been Executive Director for China at the World Bank in Washington since 2016, returns to the finance ministry months after Beijing and Washington completed a Phase 1 agreement that brought a truce to their bitter trade war, although bilateral tensions remain at their worst in decades. 

Yan was also executive director for China at the Asian Development Bank until 2012, before moving to the finance ministry.