Guo Shuqing made his first public appearance on Thursday as the new chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), and has vowed to push forward risk control and reforms.

Except for the hotly-debated risk control issue, Guo also has overcapacity problems to deal with in the financial sector, as China's economy is hugely burdened with over-supplied debt and credit, said Senior Fellow Liu Zhiqin from Renmin University of China.

Guo is known as an active reformer, having helmed various financial departments and published dozens of research papers on China's economic reform. Liu, however, does not label Guo as a “reformer.”

“Whether or not is he a successful reformer is to be recognized by the market or the public,” said Liu, who thinks the challenges Guo faces are more serious than ever before. 

‍“The non-performing bank loans are sharply increasing and he has to think of a way for traditional banks and Internet banks to better cooperate,” Guo said.

“No easy job for him (Guo), I have to say, especially for the zombie company issue, he can not do it by himself, CBRC can not do it alone, it is a problem for the whole society,” said Liu. 

Guo Shuqing, 60, turned from a researcher to an official in 2001, when he became vice governor of China's central bank. 

Still, he is widely acknowledged as a scholarly leader, twice winning the prestigious Sun Zhifang Economics Science Award for his research on reforms to China's economic institutions, and having issued over 300 papers on China's economy in recent years.

Guo was China's top foreign exchange regulator when the country joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and led the China Construction Bank in its drive to go public in Hong Kong, as it became China's first state bank to be listed in an offshore market.