(Yicai Global) March 19 -- The main task for China's central bank is to implement sound monetary policy while promoting financial reform and opening up to maintain the stability of the entire financial sector, its newly-appointed governor said in response to a question from Yicai Global.

There will be some new measures concerning financial reform and opening up this year, said Yi Gang. He asked reporters to pay close attention to the Boao Forum for Asia, often referred to as the region's Davos, held in China's southern province of Hainan every year, as well as other important conferences.

"I feel calm and solemn. The mission is honorable," 60-year-old Yi told reporters today on his way to take an oath in the Great Hall of the People, which is used for meetings of China's legislature. "I'll do a good job in accordance with the oath."

Yi was named the next governor of the People's Bank of China today, replacing 70-year-old Zhou Xiaochuan, who is retiring after 15 years. Zhou's long-serving deputy will become the central bank's 12th head.

A China and US-educated economist, Yi comes armed with an intimate knowledge of China's financial system and global financial markets. He has pursued a more than 20-year career as a central bank official and has been a fixture at critical junctures in recent years, conveying PBOC's position and explaining policies.

He graduated from the prestigious Peking University in 1980 and went on to study at Hamline University in the US state of Minnesota before research work for an economics PhD at the University of Illinois in the same state. He later became a tenured professor at Indiana University.