China’s leaders still banking on ‘irreplaceable’ central bank chief
Zhou Xiaochuan has served under three presidents and dealt with three Fed chairmen
The old generation of economic policymakers in Beijing is ceding centre stage to a new one as the Trump administration in the US threatens to tear up the global trade rule book.
Whether China will move towards an open and ordered market economy, based on the achievements of people such as central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan, will be largely dependent on the new team’s ideas and capabilities.
The South China Morning Post today introduces a series looking at those who have contributed to China’s current economic situation and those who are likely to shape its future.
Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan looks likely to remain in the post for a while as Beijing needs his experience and expertise more than ever to navigate uncharted financial waters, analysts said.
The 69-year-old was appointed head of the People’s Bank of China in late 2002 and policymakers in Beijing are hoping he will be able to steer it through a gathering storm as money flees the country at an alarming rate, debts are piling up to dangerously high levels, and the currency’s value is falling even though Beijing has spent US$1 trillion of its foreign exchange reserves to defend it.