Monetary policy gets a scholarly touch

New appointments will have little impact on interest rate hike timing

BEIJING - The appointment of three new academic members to the central bank's monetary policy committee on Monday reflects the increasing inclusiveness of monetary policymaking, but may not have any apparent bearing on the timing of an interest rate hike, analysts said.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said three Chinese economists - Xia Bin, Li Daokui and Zhou Qiren - will replace Fan Gang, the only academic member of the committee, which advises on major monetary issues.