SHANGHAI -- The board of China's Bank of Communications, one of the "Big Four" banks in China, has appointed Li Jun as the bank's new governor.

Li, 50, was also appointed vice chairman of the board at a provisional board meeting held on Wednesday afternoon in Shanghai after the board agreed unanimously on the appointment, said Song Feng, spokesman for the bank.

"The board believes Li has a deep understanding about the history, culture, system and management of the Bank of Communications," he said.

Li's financial career dates back to August 1975 when he started working for the Wuhan branch of the People's Bank of China in central China's Hubei Province. From October 1985 to October 1990, he worked for the Wuhan branch of the Industrial and Commerce Bank.

From October 1990 to April 1998, Li was vice general manager and later governor of the Wuhan branch of the Bank of Communications.

He has been working as auditor general, director, managing director, executive director and vice governor for the Bank of Communications since April 1998.

The former governor of the bank, 51-year-old Zhang Jianguo, was appointed new chief of China Construction Bank in July.

The Bank of Communications went public in Hong Kong last June - the first commercial bank on the Chinese mainland to be listed overseas.

By the end of June this year, the total assets of the bank had reached 1.589 trillion yuan (US$198.625 billion), an increase of 165.6 billion yuan over half a year ago, and it had generated a net profit of 6.034 billion yuan, an increase of 1.429 billion yuan from the previous year.