Two new financial experts were appointed to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of China's central bank in a "routine" adjustment to the powerful 14-member body headed by Governor Yi Gang, according to a weekend statement from the government.
China's state council approved the appointment of financial experts Cai Fang and Wang Yiming to the new MPC positions at the People's Bank of China (PBOC), replacing sitting members Liu Wei and Ma Jun. Liu and Ma will be leaving their committee positions immediately. Liu will continue working for the committee as a member, according to the statement.
The new members are senior policy specialist. Cai is the chief expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, specializing in agricultural and population studies. Wang is a veteran economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.
The PBOC said that the tenure of financial experts in the MPC is normally two years.
The MPC's task within the central bank is to formulate and develop monetary policies that will benefit the country's economy. It also oversees the deployment and adoption of monetary policy tools, the control of its objectives, and putting forward enhancement suggestions.
Despite its sudden decision to reshuffle the MPC members, the PBOC assured the public that it will still maintain a "neutral" monetary policy stance. The bank said that all policies will remain "neither tight nor loose" in the short term.
However, the bank said that it may shift to tighter monetary policies depending on immediate changes in economic fundamentals.
