Yi Gang, the head of China’s central bank, is expected to resign after being expelled from an elite committee of the country’s Communist Party, according to sources close to the institution. A former central banker is seen as the front-runner to follow him.
Yi, 64, has been the focus of significant speculation regarding his likely retirement in early 2023 as he approaches the formal retirement age of 65 for minister-level officials. Like Zhou Xiaochuan, Yi’s predecessor, his term had been predicted to be extended by certain policy experts and consultants.
Yi is one of the reform-minded politicians who was not selected on Saturday to serve as a full or alternate member of the party’s new Central Committee. Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, age 67, Economic Czar Liu He, age 70, and Central Bank Party Chief Guo Shuqing, age 66, were also left out.
One of the actions that solidified Xi Jinping’s iron grip on power and seemed to be consolidating authority among those close to Xi were the adjustments made at the conclusion of the twice-decade party congress.
A policy source remarked, “Yi’s resignation is inevitable.” At the party congress, “the reform camp is practically gone.”
Yi served as a substitute on the prior Central Committee. He would almost certainly resign at the annual parliament meeting in March as a result of his absence from the new Central Committee lists, according to sources.
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by the People’s Bank of China.
As the Federal Reserve and other central banks boost interest rates to combat skyrocketing inflation, the PBOC strives to support the COVID-devastated economy while avoiding extreme easing that could fuel capital flight. At the same time, the reorganization is about to take place.
According to sources close to the central bank, Yin Yong, the deputy party chairman in the Chinese capital Beijing who served as deputy governor of the central bank from 2016 to 2018, is a front-runner to succeed Yi.
Yin, 53, was chosen as a full member of the Central Committee during the party congress. He possesses a doctorate in engineering from Tsinghua University as well as a master’s in public administration from Harvard University.
On condition of anonymity, a source close to the PBOC stated that “Yin Yong is likely to replace Yi Gang.”
Given his status as a rising star and his prior work experience at the central bank, the foreign currency regulator, and the Beijing government, other sources identified Yin as being well-positioned to succeed Yi.
One of China’s highest-ranking “sea turtles,” a phrase for Chinese who have returned from abroad, Yi has served as PBOC governor since 2018. He earned his economics doctorate from the University of Illinois.
In recent weeks, the PBOC has been making changes to its top management group. On Thursday, Xuan Changneng was appointed deputy governor of the central bank.
A generation of reform-minded policymakers are anticipated to leave their positions as China undergoes the most significant change in its economic leadership in ten years as growth prospects deteriorate.
