China signaled it is preparing for its first new central bank chief since 2002 as an official newspaper said Zhou Xiaochuan will step down from his position next month.

The China Securities Journal, published by Xinhua News Agency, didn't attribute the information to anyone in its Saturday profile of Zhou, governor of the People's Bank of China.

The successor to Zhou, 65, whose decade of service makes him the longest-tenured chief of China's central bank, will help decide the pace of loosening controls on interest rates and capital flows.