Zhou Xiaochuan, the new head of the People's Bank of China, has set out the tasks of the bank's staff at a meeting held in Beijing in April, Xinhua reported. He said that they should do a good job in restructuring their departments, analysing the performance of the Chinese economy and implementing the country's monetary policy. He stressed that lending should be directed towards the rural economy and small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those with market potential. The bank would also push for gradual reform of the interest rate mechanism.
Reuters commented that his instructions were consistent with the line followed by his predecessor Dai Xianglong, now mayor of Tianjin. Zhou was previously chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.