Chen Yulu, President of Renmin University, has been appointed deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

Chen confirmed his appointment in reply to text message inquiries from Sohu.com, although no official announcement has yet been made either by Renmin University or PBOC's website.

Earlier reports said the appointment would only be transitory, as Chen is about to later take over from Zhu Min; the latter served as deputy governor of the central bank from October 2009 to June 2010 and later became the first Chinese deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

At present, Yi Gang, Pan Gongsheng, Fan Yifei and Guo Qingping serve as deputy governors of the central bank.

An expert in monetary policy and international finance, Chen has shared his expertise on the rise of renminbi as an international currency.

Chen said at the International Monetary Forum in July 2015 that renminbi might catch up with the yen, becoming the fourth-largest international currency, "as long as no major adverse events occur."

Born in 1966 in Hebei Province, Chen holds a PhD in economics, and has been a senior fellow of Eisenhower Foundation and a Fulbright scholar at the University of Columbia.

Prior to his current position, Chen served as the president of Beijing Foreign Studies University from March 2010 to October 2011.