The picture of Xi Jinping as omnipotent dictator may have sprouted some puppet strings. ? TN Editor
Yi Gang boasts more policy know-how than political heft as he takes the helm of the People's Bank of China.

Confirmed Monday as successor to his long-time boss Zhou Xiaochuan, the 60-year-old Yi boasts more than two decades of experience in the central bank he will now run.

As No. 2 for more than a decade, the former Indiana University economics professor also managed the country's foreign exchange policy from 2009 to 2016 — a time when currency reserves were growing toward $4 trillion and China was easing trading restrictions on the yuan and increasing its international use.