Wang Qishan is a Chinese retired politician who served as Vice President of the People's Republic of China from 2018 to 2023.
35 Facts About Wang Qishan
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Between 2012 and 2017, Wang Qishan had served as the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Chinese Communist Party's internal control and anti-corruption body, and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
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Wang Qishan has been instrumental in carrying out General Secretary Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign since 2013.
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Wang Qishan gained prominence in China's financial sector in the late 1980s.
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In 1994, Wang Qishan became the Governor of the China Construction Bank.
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Wang Qishan then served as Vice-Premier in charge of finance and commercial affairs under premier Wen Jiabao from March 2008 to March 2013, during which he gained a seat on the party's Politburo.
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Wang Qishan is considered to be among Xi Jinping's closest political allies.
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Wang Qishan was born in Qingdao, Shandong, but his ancestral hometown is considered Tianzhen, Shanxi.
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In 1973, Wang Qishan was admitted as a "Worker-Peasant-Soldier student" at Northwest University in Xi'an, where he studied history and graduated in 1976.
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Wang Qishan met Yao Mingshan, the daughter of Yao Yilin, in Yan'an and the two later wed.
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In 1982, Yao Yilin became an alternate member of the Central Secretariat, and Wang Qishan was elevated to the Secretariat's office on rural policy research.
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From 1982 to 1988, Wang Qishan worked in various posts in policy research.
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In 1988, Wang Qishan was transferred to become the chief executive of the Agricultural Investment Trust of China.
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Wang Qishan became Governor of the China Construction Bank in 1994 and served until 1997.
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In 1997, Wang Qishan was transferred to Guangdong to become its Executive Vice Governor, one of the highest posts in the provincial government.
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At the height of the Asian Financial Crisis, Wang Qishan assisted then Guangdong Party Secretary Li Changchun in managing non-performing loans of various state owned enterprises in the province.
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Since then, Wang Qishan developed a reputation for being a "financial specialist" in Premier Zhu Rongji's cabinet.
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Wang Qishan took over from disgraced Beijing mayor Meng Xuenong when SARS struck the city in spring 2003, at which time he had only served as the Party Secretary in Hainan for five months.
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In contrast to the lack of transparency during the administration of his predecessor, Wang Qishan called for a daily press release on the latest information about SARS.
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Wang Qishan was confirmed as Mayor of Beijing in early 2004.
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In March 2005, during a local radio show, Wang Qishan apologized on air to the Beijing public for an ongoing natural gas supply shortage in the city.
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In 2009, Wang Qishan was appointed by President Hu Jintao as his special representative to chair the Economic Track of the US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue for the Chinese side.
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Wang Qishan was named as one of the most influential people in the world in the 2009 Time 100 list.
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Wang Qishan ultimately entered the ranks of the Politburo Standing Committee, considered the pinnacle of power in China, at the 18th Party Congress, taking on the job of the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's top anti-graft body.
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Wang Qishan's assuming the leading anti-corruption post was believed to be at least partly owing to his relationship with Xi Jinping.
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Wang Qishan became the Leader of the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work, responsible for dispatching teams to the provinces and state-owned enterprises with the goal of rooting out corruption.
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In October 2015, the CCDI under Wang Qishan's leadership released a new and complete set of regulations on party disciplinary procedures and rules on party member conduct, a document aimed at institutionalizing the party's ability to discipline its members and reduce corruption.
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Additionally, Wang Qishan introduced for the first time a set of disciplinary procedures for party disciplinary officials themselves.
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Wang Qishan left the Politburo Standing Committee and CCDI after the 19th Party Congress in October 2017.
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Wang Qishan is married to Yao Mingshan, daughter of former first Vice Premier of China Yao Yilin; Wang Qishan and Yao do not have children.
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Wang Qishan is sometimes considered a "princeling" through his marriage.
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US Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson said that Wang Qishan is "decisive and inquisitive" and "an avid historian, enjoys philosophical debates and has a wicked sense of humor".
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Wang Qishan managed the largest bankruptcy restructuring in China's history in 1998 and thereby prevented a banking crisis that could have crippled the country's growth.
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Wang Qishan is a fan of the American television series House of Cards, and has frequently alluded to the show during anti-corruption conferences; he has said that he was especially fascinated by the role of the party whip.
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Wang Qishan has said that he has watched some Korean dramas.