China's Toughest Job?

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, has guided his country's monetary policy for most of the 21st century. He was appointed in 2002, shortly after China joined the World Trade Organization, and helped steer its economy through the global financial crisis. In the process, he gained widespread respect at home and a reputation for prudent liberalism abroad.

Lately, Zhou has been circulating widely. At a forum in June, he criticized protectionism in China's financial sector. In an interview this month, he called for liberalizing the yuan. At a recent meeting in Washington, he warned about excessive corporate debt growth. Zhou, who will reach the typical retirement age of 70 next year, certainly sounds like a man on his way out the door. "People retire eventually," he told reporters yesterday, at an event at the 19th Communist Party Congress.