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Forbes
Forbes
25 Jul 2023



PBOC Headquarters Building in Beijing as China Economy Gloom Worsens With Weak Consumer Spending Data

The People's Bank of China building in Beijing, China, on Monday, June 26, 2023. China's recovery ... [+] from its "zero-Covid" policies during the pandemic is showing signs of losing momentum. Source: Bloomberg

© 2023 Bloomberg Finance LP

China’s new central bank chief named today brings connections to Harvard University and Cambridge University to the job at a time of strains in the country’s international ties and worries about growth prospects for its economy — the world’s second largest.

Pan Gongshan, whose career includes numerous posts in China’s state-dominated financial system, was once a senior research fellow at Harvard and did post-doctoral research at Cambridge, according to his official biography. It didn’t provide any dates.

Pan’s latest role was announced on the same day as a mysterious shake-up at China’s Foreign Ministry involving one of the country’s best-known diplomats that is being followed overseas. Former long-time foreign minister and current Communist Party foreign affairs chief Wang Yi has returned to lead the ministry, replacing Qin Gang who has disappeared from public view for a month. No reason was given for the switch.

Qin, a high-profile, long-time ministry official, was China’s ambassador to the U.S. and described as close to Chinese President Xi Jinping before becoming foreign minister last year. In a widely publicized visit to the country, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk met Qin in Beijing in May.

China Elon Musk

In this photo taken Tuesday, May 30 2023 and released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China's ... [+] Foreign Minister Qin Gang, right, poses for photos with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Beijing. China’s foreign minister met Tesla. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China via AP)

Associated Press

Pan, who recently also was named the Communist Party chief at the People’s Bank, became a deputy governor there in 2012. Earlier, he was an executive director of the Agricultural Bank of China and held various posts at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Though not household names around the world, the two state-controlled banks made the top 10 of the 2023 Forbes Global 2000 list of the world’s top publicly traded companies unveiled last month. (See related post here.)

Outgoing People Bank Governor Yi Gang holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and taught in the economics department at Indiana University earlier in his career.

Pan is taking up the governor’s post amid clouds over China’s economic growth outlook and geopolitical tension that have hurt foreign investment and spurred the diversification of global supply chains away from the country. The days of multinational companies having 100% of overseas sourcing from China “are over,” former Morgan Stanley long-time Asia expert Stephen Roach told Forbes last month. (See interview here.)

“China is still a great opportunity for offshoring, and it still has a large market for multinationals, including U.S.-based multinationals, to tap,” said Roach, who for three decades was the Wall Street heavyweight’s chief economist and Asia chairman. “But you want to have your eggs in a number of baskets, not just in one.”

China’s GDP grew 5.5% in the first half of 2023, against a low year-earlier base when spending was hurt by the pandemic.

See related posts:

Forbes Global 2000: China’s Ranks Thin As Real Estate Woes Persist

Pentagon Faces Questions On Left, Right About Defense Imports

China’s “Fits And Starts” Economy Needs Private Sector Boost — Matthews Asia’s Andy Rothman

China’s Days As A Sole Overseas Source For U.S. Companies “Are Over” — Stephen Roach

@rflannerychina