The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) on Wednesday appointed Zhang Tao, former deputy governor of China's central bank, as chief representative for Asia and the Pacific, making him the first Chinese senior official in the international financial institution owned by 63 central banks and monetary authorities.

Zhang will start his tenure on June 14 at the BIS Asian Office in Hong Kong, where he will work to "strengthen and deepen cooperation between the BIS, central banks and regulatory agencies in Asia and the Pacific," according to the bank's press release.

Before the appointment, Zhang was chairman of the Supervisory Board of the state-owned People's Insurance Company of China.

Prior to that, he held various high-level positions at global and national institutions, including as deputy managing director at the International Monetary Fund (2016-2021), and was also previously deputy governor of the People's Bank of China.

"He is very well placed to expand and deepen the BIS collaboration with regional central banks and regulatory agencies and to strengthen our operational resilience in a region that is increasingly important for the global economy and for the BIS," said BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens.