China's newly named central bank chief, Yi Gang, said the central bank will maintain a "moderate" monetary policy with a focus on financial and market-access reforms while keeping an eye on financial stability, Chinese news outlet Caixin Global reported.

"We shall implement a moderate monetary policy, pushing forward financial reform and opening up at the same time as maintaining the stability of the finance industry," Yi reportedly said March 19 in one of his first comments after being named as People's Bank of China governor.

"You will see a slew of reform and opening-up policies coming out from the [sic] this day on till the start of the Bo'ao Forum in Hainan province [in April]," he added, referring to the annual gathering of government and business leaders modeled after the World Economic Forum in Davos.

A former secretary-general of the monetary policy committee and deputy governor of the PBOC, Yi is set to replace Zhou Xiaochuan who has headed the central bank for more than 15 years. Yi is a protege of Zhou, and his appointment is seen as pointing to continuity in monetary policy, Reuters reported.

Yi was described by a top Chinese leader as "an expert of the U.S. economy and financial system" at a recent internal meeting, the Caixin report said.