Why China’s new central bank chief will defy the easy tags

CHINA’S new monetary boss, Pan Gongsheng, barely has his feet under the desk and he is likened to a hawk. In time, that label may prove wide of the mark. Beijing needs to juice the economy and needs of the hour will steer decision-making.

Few things are as frustrating as the rush to assign avian analogies to central bankers to convey their policy preferences and predict a course of action. Many of these terms lack context and a sense of perspective.

History is littered with examples of officials who readily pivot when circumstances require. Recall that when Ben Bernanke first became US Federal Reserve chair in 2006, he pushed back against perceptions he would pursue easy money. Many now remember him as a card-carrying dove after he rescued the country’s financial system and began quantitative easing (QE).