China should consider lifting controls on deposit rates in 2015, when the preconditions for that move will be in place, the head of the nation's largest privately owned bank suggested.

"It's been 17 years since China launched its market-oriented interest rate reform... Lifting the controls on deposit rates would be the last step in this process," said Hong Qi, president of China Minsheng Banking Corp, at the World Economic Forum in Dalian on Wednesday.

However, "this will be a progressive process to minimize the impact. An overly fast relaxation will lead to competition over interest rates among banks," he said.