PBOC chief Yi Gang viewed as reformer with steady hand

China’s overhaul of key government positions, which led to the election of a new central bank governor and finance minister on Monday, sends a message of policy continuity in an effort to push forward reform while preventing financial risks, political observers said.

Yi Gang, 60, the former vicegovernor of the central bank, was elected by the country’s top legislature to take over the helm at the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, from Zhou Xiaochuan, who had been in the job for 15 years.

The new governor, who joined the bank in 1997, pledged to implement prudent monetary policy, make progress on financial reform and opening-up and maintain financial stability. That will be the “most important task”, and China’s financial sector should remain stable, Yi said after his nomination was endorsed at a meeting of the annual session of the 13th National People’s Congress.

“More policies and measures on financial reform and opening-up will be announced at the upcoming forum held in Boao, Hainan province, next month,” Yi said.

With a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois in the United States, and more than 10 years as vice-governor of the central bank, Yi is seen as a reformer who supports market-oriented reform and has helped Zhou to achieve a more flexible exchange rate regime and strengthen the yuan’s role in global usage.

“His academic background and his long and varied experience in different positions at both the PBOC and the State Foreign Exchange Administration make him a technocrat, with, in our opinion, the ability to make professional and sound judgments on policy decisions,” said Zhao Yang, chief China economist at Nomura Securities.

The major challenge for the new governor may be advancing financial reform at a proper pace amid the country’s financial deleveraging, experts said.