News out earlier today reported by Caixin via Bloomberg citing an internal announcement

Peoples Bank of China dep gov Pan Gongsheng will replace Yi Gang as head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) but will also maintain his post at PBOC

Yi is also a dep gov at the PBOC ( they have six) and will remain so, says the as yet unofficial report

No immediate impact seen on Chinese FX policy but Pan is seen as a good choice to take on this key role

Chen Zhiwi, a finance professor at Yale University and former adviser to China's cabinet says:

"Pan is a great choice for the job and its challenges. He's well educated and has many years of experience in the financial sector, including banking,monetary policy and capital markets. He also has had lots of international exposure and the needed language skills"

Pan - PBOC dep gov and soon to be head of SAFE

SAFE lists its major functions as:

1. To study and propose policy suggestions on the reform of the foreign exchange administration system, prevention of the balance of payments risks, and promotion of the balance of payments equilibrium; to study and implement policy measures for the gradual advancement of the convertibility of the RMB under the capital account and the cultivation and development of the foreign exchange market; to provide suggestions and a foundation for the People's Bank of China to formulate policy on RMB exchange rate.
2. To participate in the drafting of relevant laws, regulations, and departmental rules on foreign exchange administration, releasing standard documents related to the carrying out of responsibilities.
3. To oversee the statistics and monitoring of the balance of payments and the external credit and debt, releasing relevant information according to regulations and undertaking related work concerning the monitoring of cross-border capital flows.
4. To be responsible for the supervision and management of the foreign exchange market of the state; to undertake supervision and management of the settlement and sale of foreign exchange; to cultivate and develop the foreign exchange market.
5. To be responsible for supervising and checking the authenticity and legality of the receipt and payment of foreign exchange under the current account according to law; to be responsible for implementing foreign exchange administration under the capital account according to law, and to continuously improve management work in line with the convertibility process of the RMB under the capital account; and to regulate management of overseas and domestic foreign exchange accounts.
6. To be in charge of implementing supervision and checking of foreign exchange according to law, and punishing behaviors that violate the foreign exchange administration.
7. To undertake operations and management of foreign exchange reserves, gold reserves, and other foreign exchange assets of the state.
8. To arrange development planning, standards, and criteria for IT-based foreign exchange administration and organizing relevant implementation; to realize supervision of information-sharing with the relevant administrative departments according to law.
9. To take part in relevant international financial activities.
10. To undertake other matters as assigned by the State Council and the People's Bank of China.