Former assistant governor of the People's Bank of China has been promoted to one of the five deputies of the central bank, Shanghai Securities News reported today.

Ma Delun, 59, former assistant to central bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, has been chosen as a deputy governor, almost six months after Xiang Junbo, a former deputy, was transferred to be the governor of the Agriculture Bank of China in June, 2007, the report said.

Ma has been the assistant governor of the central bank since April, 2005. He has also been the vice director of the central bank's Shanghai branch since August, 2005, the report said.

The former spokesman of the central bank was vice director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange from March, 2001, to March, 2005, the report said.

Before that, he was vice director of the central bank's Policy Research Office, the director of the General Office and head of the Finance and Accounting Department from 1992 to February, 2001, the report said.

(Shanghai Daily January 2, 2008)