When Zhou Xiaochuan last week used the phrase “Minsky moment” to warn against complacency during the current period of unexpectedly strong Chinese growth, it was not the first time the central bank chief had highlighted risks from excessive debt and speculative investment.

But Mr Zhou, governor of the People’s Bank of China, would surely have known that the colourful phrase — redolent of the 2008 financial crisis, which resurrected the reputation of the US economist Hyman Minsky — would grab headlines.

Mr Zhou’s statements about Chinese economics and policy have become increasingly candid in recent weeks, and central bank watchers say it is no accident. At the same meeting where he warned of Minsky-ite risks, Mr Zhou, 69, confirmed that he would retire “soon” after serving since 2002, the longest tenure of any PBoC chief.