Having lost around the 15% of its value in the first two weeks of 2016, Chinese stockmarket is still struggling to achieve stability. After the dramatic fall subsequent to the introduction of the new “circuit breaker” mechanism, sources said Xiao Gang, the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), offered to resign. According to the report, the man – responsible for the introduction of the new mechanism – handed his resignation last week, when his circuit breaker was blamed for exacerbating a sharp sell-off, instead of tempering the market.

At the beginning of the present week, it seemed that Xiao, a former chairman of Bank of China, was supposed to soon be replaced as CSRC chairman, since the central leadership was “extremely unhappy” with recent outcomes. Yet, it is not known if Xiao’s resignation offer has been accepted by the central government, since his term does not formally expire until end-2018.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Organisation Department, which is in charge of staffing positions within the CCP, had short-listed three candidates to succeed Xiao, the sources said. One of the three is Huang Qifan, currently mayor of Chongqing, who is also tipped to become Secretary General of the State Council, and may concurrently serve as CSRC chairman.

Representing the sixth highest ministerial position in Chinese leadership, after Premier and the four Vice Premiers, the Secretary General holds a state-level position, which is above minister-level, and assists Premier Li Keqiang on central government operations, . If confirmed, Huang would have to streamline China’s chaotic financial markets, as well as oversee the entire spectrum of portfolios, thus including industry, agriculture, energy, the environment, state planning and technology.

Born in 1952 in the coastal province of Zhejiang, Huang became a CCP member 40 years ago and since 2012 hold a seat in the CCP Central Committee, the political body that comprises the top leaders of the Communist Party, currently composed of 205 full members and 171 alternate members.

It seems that the decision of Huang’s appointment came down directly from President Xi, who visited Chongqing as first stop in his 2016 home inspection tour. Huang was also one of the high-raking officials to follow Xi Jinping in his US tour, in September last year, when he met President Obama at the White House.

Given the “excellent work” as mayor of Chongqing, and since he “has a profound understanding of China’s financial system as well as the real economy” Huang’s promotion to the State Council is expected to boost investors’ confidence and help stabilize China’s stockmarket. While the exact nature of his role is unclear, they said Huang would help Mr Li coordinate various ministries.

Huang, made his name as Director of Economic Committee of China’s financial hub Shanghai, and is widely respected as an expert on financial and economic affairs, although he has never held a position in a bank or other financial institution, choosing instead to remain in government.

Since 2011 Huang has been mayor of Chongqing, the city which has outpaced the majority of urban areas in terms of economic growth since 2014. The municipality’s economy grew at 11% in the first nine months of 2015, versus 10.9% in the whole of 2014, dodging the country’s overall slowing economic growth. He has prospered after the 2012 fall of his former superior, Bo Xilai, then Chongqing Communist Party secretary and a member of the party’s decision-making Politburo.

Other potential candidates for State’s Council secretariat are Bayin Chaolu, the Party leader of the northeaster province of Jilin, and You Quan, who holds the same position the southeaster province of Fujian.

An announcement on the new appointment could come after a meeting of the elite Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress this month or next, or during the legislative body’s annual full session in March.