The Zhou you know

21 February 2013 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan has presided over a decade of more-or-less stability. The cost has been financial repression and the build-up of sizeable risks. But the PBOC’s freedom is limited. If ideas and experience are what counts, Zhou remains the best person for the job.

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China’s central bank governor may keep his job despite reaching the mandatory cabinet minister’s retirement age of 65, Reuters reported on Feb. 20, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Zhou Xiaochuan, who has presided over the People’s Bank of China since 2002, would remain in charge of the central bank after a reshuffle of top posts in March, and also be made vice-chairman of China’s top parliamentary advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Xiao Gang, the chairman of Bank of China, was expected to be named as party secretary of the PBOC, one source told Reuters, as a prelude to one day replacing Zhou. The length of Zhou’s extended tenure was unclear, the reports said.
Zhou has spoken openly about the need to reform the international currency system. In 2009 he called for a non-sovereign alternative to the dollar as global reserve currency. He has also spearheaded China’s push to “internationalise” its currency, which remains only partly convertible.

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