BEIJING - The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, announced Monday that it has joined the South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) as a council member.

The PBOC said in a statement on its website that the bank became the 17th member of SEACEN on Jan 25, at the invitation of the organization and upon the approval of China's State Council, or cabinet.

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PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan attended the 46th SEACEN Governors Conference and the 30th SEACEN Board of Governors Meeting, which was held in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo from Feb 25 to 27, it said.

Founded in 1966, SEACEN has been a regional financial organization that promotes information exchanges and personnel training among Southeast Asian central banks and monetary authorities. It has also established a research and training center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The organization also has two "observer" central banks, the Bank of Laos and the National Reserve Bank of Tonga.