It has been confirmed that the Deputy Director of the People’s Bank of China Yi Gang was appointed as the head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchanges (SAFE). On July 20, Yi Yang’s name could be seen on the website of the SAFE as the director and Secretary of the Communist Party Team. Meanwhile, Yi Gang still stays in his post as the central bank’s deputy director. Former SAFE director Hu Xiaolian became the deputy director of the People’s Bank of China.

Yi, 51, graduated from the Economics Major of Beijing University. Then he went to Hamline University and University of Illinois in the USA for further education and got the doctor degree in economics. He used to work in the Chinese Economy Research Center, Beijing University.

Yi became famous because he successfully forecasted the deflation in 1998 and exerted influence upon the adjustment policies. In 1997 he began to work in the People’s Bank of China and had taken many posts there. In 2007, he was promoted to the Deputy Director in charge of the monetary policies. His book The Monetization in China explained the reason of why no inflation happened in China after several years’ fast development.

This appointment was thought to be a significant change in Yi Gang’s political career. The foreign exchange reserves of China exceeded 2 trillion US dollars in June, which was the historical high. Therefore, it is more difficult to regulate such a large amount of foreign reserves, which is undoubtedly a big test for Yi Gang, who has just stepped in the post.