International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has announced that Deputy Managing Director Bo Li will leave the organisation on November 30, 2026, at the end of his term, with Min Liao, currently Vice Minister of Finance of China, proposed to succeed him from December 1.
“Since joining the IMF in August 2021, Bo has been an outstanding member of our senior management team and a dear friend to so many of us. He 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,” said Georgieva.
As Deputy Managing Director, Li has been responsible for the Fund’s work on about 90 member countries and a wide range of policy issues.
He led the launch of the Fund’s first Enterprise Risk Management policy and roadmap and the modernisation of its data governance framework. He also guided work on digital money and cross-border payments and led seminal work on stablecoin regulation.
Li championed the Fund’s engagement with small developing states, supported debt restructurings under the Common Framework, and guided the institution’s agenda on governance and corruption.
More recently, he spearheaded work on artificial intelligence, helping integrate AI into surveillance, lending and capacity development work.
“Bo leaves a lasting mark on the Fund and will be greatly missed. I am personally very grateful to him for his wise counsel and his dedication to the Fund and our members,” Georgieva added.
Announcing the proposed appointment of Liao, she said, “Min is a highly respected policymaker with more than three decades of experience in banking, financial regulation, and macroeconomic governance. He has been deeply engaged in global macro-policy coordination and in bilateral and multilateral fiscal, financial, and trade cooperation. His experience at the intersection of domestic reform and international economic cooperation will be a tremendous asset to the Fund and our membership.”
Liao has served as Vice Minister of Finance since May 2018 and concurrently served as Vice Minister of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission until 2023.
He has expertise in coordinating fiscal and monetary policies and has been a member of the Monetary Policy Committee since 2023. Before that, he served as Director-General of the Bureau of International Economy at the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs.
Liao began his professional career at the People’s Bank of China, China Everbright Group and Bank of China. He also served at the China Banking Regulatory Commission, holding positions including Director-General of its General Office, before becoming Director-General of the Shanghai Banking Regulatory Bureau.
Alongside his policy and regulatory work, he has conducted research on finance, banking supervision, macroeconomic policy and international financial governance.
Liao holds a master’s degree in economics from Peking University and an MBA from the University of Cambridge.