(Yicai) May 29 -- The People’s Bank of China has appointed Li Wei, the head of the central bank’s technology department, to governor of the PBOC’s Beijing branch as the central bank steps up support for innovation and tech firms in the capital, Beijing Daily Group reported on its website today, citing an announcement from the central bank.

Li will also serve as secretary of the party committee of the PBOC’s Beijing branch and head of the Beijing branch of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, among other key roles, the report said.

The PBOC also announced at the same time that Governor Pan Gongsheng inspected the Beijing branch earlier today. During the visit, Pan urged the Beijing branch’s party committee to make good use of policy tools such as refinancing for technological innovation and equipment upgrades to support the development of scientific and technological finance, which is a form of financing tailored to science and technology companies, in the capital city.

The central bank supports the high-level opening-up of finance in Beijing, and has called for the steady advancement of reforms to facilitate cross-border trade and investment, as well as improvements in foreign exchange management to better serve the real economy, Pan said.

Li replaces Chao Kejian who was transferred earlier this month to serve as secretary of the party committee and chairman of China Financial Computerization Group, a PBOC subsidiary.

Li has held a number of senior positions at the central bank and its units, including deputy director of the China National Clearing Center‌ and deputy director of the PBOC’s Shijiazhuang branch, according to public data.

Artificial intelligence has become an important engine driving high-quality development across industries, and its role in supporting the digital transformation of the financial sector is becoming increasingly prominent, Li said at the 2025 Conference of the China Wealth Management 50 Forum held at the end of last year. He also stressed the need to pay attention to the challenges and risks associated with AI applications in finance.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor