He assumed the post of deputy secretary of the leading party members' group and vice governor of the People's Bank of China in March 1988. Chen's leadership at the People's Bank of China was noteworthy. It was a time when China was just opening up trading with the West. Prior to 1988, when Chen joined PBOC, there were almost no international reserves. However, by 1992, as trade increased, the foreign reserves also started to grow as a result of the international trade to over US$10 billion. Thus, Chen was charged with helping to turn the People's Bank of China into a modern central bank. As one of the key things he did, he brought in outside advisors such as William Lawton, a noted fixed income and currency expert who was a Senior Vice President in charge of global fixed income at Trust Company of the West, a well-known international asset management company headquartered in Los Angeles. Chen oversaw the implementation, under Lawton's supervision, of risk guidelines for the Bank, utilization of research models such as the Lawton Bond Model, and upgrading of the computer and trading systems. It was under Chen's leadership and foresight that PBOC was put on a firm footing to become the world's largest central bank in a little over a decade.[citation needed]
Chen was appointed China Development Bank's governor in April 1998.[3]: 34 Chen implemented reforms designed to increase CDB's autonomy by reducing state involvement in CDB's fundraising and lending.[3]: 34
Following the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, Chen was among the Chinese policymakers who favored China shifting from its traditionally passive management of its foreign exchange reserves to a more active approach.[2]: 63 Chen's view was that China should hedge against increasing commodity prices and the falling US dollar by using its foreign exchange reserves to buy energy and mineral assets.[2]: 63
^Michael Forsythe, Henry Sanderson (June 2011). "Financing China Costs Poised to Rise With CDB Losing Sovereign-Debt Status". Bloomberg Market Magazine.