China's central bank appoints new policy advisers

[BEIJING] China's central bank has named three economic professors as advisers to its monetary policy as part of scheduled changes to an advisory committee.

Fan Gang, Huang Yiping and Bai Chong-en will succeed Qian Yingyi, Chen Yulu and Song Guoqing as the advisers on the monetary policy committee, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on its website. Each appointment lasts for two years.

The new policy advisers hail from China's elite Peking University and Tsinghua University. Mr Fan is an influential China economist and former central bank adviser, while Mr Huang was also previously the chief economist for emerging Asia at Barclays.

The monetary policy committee meets once every quarter to discuss the trends and challenges in the world's second-largest economy, and would recommend any changes or action when necessary.

But the committee's influence is limited by the fact that China's central bank has no autonomy over policy, since all interest rate decisions must be signed off by senior Chinese leaders in the Communist Party.

As part of the reshuffle, the central bank said it has also replaced three government officials on its monetary policy committee.

Lian Weiliang from China's powerful economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, Shi Yaobin from the Ministry of Finance and Zhang Xiaohui from the central bank will replace Zhu Zhixin, Hu Xiaolian and Ma Jiantang, the PBOC said.

REUTERS