New Central Bank Governor Pan Gongsheng Appointed By China

(CTN News) – The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which is the highest political post within the central bank, announced on Monday the appointment of Pan Gongsheng as its new governor.

Pan was elevated to the central bank’s top political post earlier this month.

Pan, who led China’s top foreign exchange regulator from 2016 to 2017, was announced by state media on Tuesday as the successor to respected governor Yi Gang.

With this appointment, Pan becomes the first person since Yi’s predecessor Zhou Xiaochun in the past 30 years to take over both positions.

He is also known for taking a tough stance against currency speculators and he has played a significant role in reforming state Central Bank, tightening property market regulations, and banning cryptocurrencies, among many other things.

It is incumbent upon him to tackle not only a downturn in the property market – which is responsible for almost a quarter of the country’s economic activity – but also the mountain of debt held by local governments, which also poses major challenges for the banking sector and for the wider economy as a whole.

During her recent visit to Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with the head of the People’s Bank of China, and she referred to him as the head of the bank.

As a matter of fact, it’s important to note that Pan will hold both the position of the Communist Party chairman at the PBOC as well as the office of the governor of the central bank.

China has taken steps this year to tighten party control over the financial system, including plans for a Central Financial Commission to supervise the PBOC and other institutions, and accordingly, the central bank will now report to the new regulators who will be in charge of overseeing these institutions.

In light of the new structure, Pan’s chances of championing pro-market reforms as his two predecessors did will be dampened.

State media reported that China had removed Yi Gang from the position of governor of the central bank.

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