China Names Pan Gongsheng Central Bank Chief

Pan Gongsheng was named China’s central bank governor Tuesday in the widely anticipated final major appointment of the ruling Communist Party’s once-a-decade change of power, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Photo Insert: Pan, a deputy central bank governor and veteran of China’s state-owned banking industry, succeeds Yi Gang, a US-trained economist who held the post for five years.

Pan, a deputy central bank governor and veteran of China’s state-owned banking industry, succeeds Yi Gang, a US-trained economist who held the post for five years. The endorsement of Pan’s promotion by the ceremonial legislature, the National People’s Congress, follows other Cabinet-level appointments announced in March.

Pan earned a Ph.D. in economics from Renmin University in Beijing and did research at Cambridge and Harvard Universities.

The governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is the most prominent Chinese figure in finance circles but the post’s powers are limited. The bank is controlled by the ruling Communist Party.

Pan, who turns 60 this month, met July 8 with visiting US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, indicating he was being promoted. The US predicted he would take over Yi Gang’s post. He is the Communist Party secretary for PBoC.

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