(Yicai) Nov. 26 -- The deputy governor of China’s central bank is moving on to take the reins at China Investment Corporation, a sovereign wealth fund that manages part of the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Zhang Qingsong, who has been deputy governor at the People’s Bank of China for over two years, will become chairman of CIC, which has assets of more than USD1 trillion, CIC said today, citing the decision of the State Council. He succeeds Peng Chun who has been chair since April 2019.

59-year-old Zhang has worked in China’s banking system for more than three decades, and has held a number of senior roles including president of Agricultural Bank of China, president of Export-Import Bank of China, and vice president of Bank of China. He took on the mantle of PBOC vice governor and a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee in August 2022.

Under Peng's leadership, the CIC performed steadily in an uncertain external environment, the Beijing-based company said. The 62-year-old, who had previously served as president and chairman of the Bank of Communications, focused on reforming external investment mechanisms and enhancing its role as a sovereign wealth fund and state-owned financial capital.

CIC, which was founded in 2007 to diversify China's foreign exchange investments, had total assets of USD1.3 trillion as of Dec. 31, 2023 and had logged an annual rate of return on investment of 6.57 percent over the last 10 years, according to its latest annual report.

Editor: Kim Taylor