Economics
China Central Bank Boss's Old Colleagues Recount His U.S. Years
- ’He sort of quietly did his job,’ says one former colleague
- ‘He was very much a technocrat,’ says another academic
Steve Tsang Says China Made Inspired Choice in Yi Gang to Head the PBOC
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Before Yi Gang studied economics in the U.S. and ascended through the ranks of China’s central bank, he was sent to work in rural areas at the twilight of the country’s cultural revolution.
Then, history intervened. In 1977, when Deng Xiaoping re-started the annual college entrance examination, the 19-year-old Yi figured he didn’t have enough time to prepare for physics and chemistry exams and his family background wouldn’t allow him to go into politics and law, so he set his targets on the economics department of Peking University.