42 Facts About Zhang Dejiang

Zhang Dejiang is a Chinese retired politician who served as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress between 2013 and 2018.

Zhang Dejiang was the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party from 2012 to 2017.

In March 2012, Zhang Dejiang briefly replaced Bo Xilai as the party secretary of Chongqing, who was removed due to a political scandal.

Zhang Dejiang became the deputy head of the National Security Commission and the top official responsible for Hong Kong and Macau affairs.

Zhang Dejiang was appointed as the chairman of the NPCSC in 2013.

In 2017, Zhang Dejiang retired from the Politburo Standing Committee, and was succeeded by Li Zhanshu as NPCSC chair in 2018.

Zhang Dejiang enrolled in Kim Il Sung University in North Korea in August 1978 and received a degree in economics in 1980.

Zhang Dejiang rose to prominence during the era of general secretary Jiang Zemin.

Zhang Dejiang accompanied Jiang on a visit to North Korea in March 1990.

Zhang Dejiang was popular among business leaders in Zhejiang due to his relatively laissez-faire attitude towards private enterprise.

Zhang Dejiang was known for allowing private business to operate freely, within the bounds of the law.

In 2001, Zhang Dejiang wrote an article attacking the idea of allowing business owners to join the Communist Party, claiming that doing so would ruin the party, shortly before Jiang formally accepted the idea through the Three Represents idea.

In November 2002, Zhang Dejiang was transferred to Guangdong to become its Party Secretary.

Zhang Dejiang earned a seat on the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.

Zhang Dejiang's appointment came immediately after the beginning of the SARS crisis, which began in Guangdong.

Zhang Dejiang initially responded to the outbreak by restricting the flow of information to the public about SARS.

Zhang Dejiang arrived in Guangdong at a time when the province's economic growth seemed to be lagging coastal provinces such as Jiangsu and Shandong, both of which were a mere several hundred billion yuan away from 'catching up' to Guangdong's GDP figures.

Zhang Dejiang made it a top priority to stimulate the province's economy.

Immediately after arriving in Guangdong, Zhang Dejiang commissioned studies on increasing economic interdependence among Hong Kong, Macau, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hunan, Hainan, and Guangxi.

Critics called Pan-Pearl Delta economic integration an empty concept and alleged that Zhang Dejiang was pushing the policy as a platform for future promotion.

Critics accuse Zhang Dejiang of suppressing freedom of the press and the right to protest.

Nonetheless, Zhang Dejiang was not considered a part of the "Shanghai clique" of Jiang's closest associates.

Zhang Dejiang is reportedly connected to the faction of Deng Xiaoping through Deng's son Deng Pufang and fellow former Standing Committee member Yu Zhengsheng.

Zhang Dejiang was appointed vice premier in 2008 in Wen Jiabao Government.

Zhang Dejiang took over as the head of a central task force on Production Safety.

Zhang Dejiang therefore emerged as a visible face of the national leadership during incidents which required on-site presence of political leaders.

Zhang Dejiang was the highest-ranked official on the site of the 2009 Heilongjiang mine explosion, which killed over one hundred people.

Zhang Dejiang led the response team to the crash of Henan Airlines Flight 8387 in Yichun, Heilongjiang.

Zhang Dejiang shouldered some responsibility for the botched handling of the rescue operations, which was widely criticised on Chinese media.

Zhang Dejiang was appointed to lead Chongqing's party organisation in March 2012 following the removal of Bo Xilai as local party chief due to a political scandal that sent shockwaves through the top echelons of the Communist Party leadership.

Zhang Dejiang retained his position as vice premier during his term in Chongqing.

Immediately after taking office in Chongqing, Zhang Dejiang made statements to ease the concerns of the business community that Bo's removal would lead to a slowdown to the city's economy.

Chongqing's newspapers all featured the details of Zhang Dejiang's resume immediately after his appointment.

Zhang Dejiang was appointed a member of the decision-making Politburo Standing Committee after the 18th CCP National Congress held in November 2012.

Zhang Dejiang was elected as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, succeeding the retiring Wu Bangguo.

Since ascending to the Standing Committee, Zhang Dejiang ostensibly continued his role as an 'expert' in Korean affairs, meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on two occasions: during the latter's visit to Beijing in June 2013, and on his own official visit to Seoul in June 2015.

Zhang Dejiang publicly endorsed the "satisfactory" performance of chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who came under immense pressure during the Umbrella Movement to step down from office.

Zhang Dejiang arrived in Hong Kong on 17 May 2016 for a three-day visit in his capacity as the official responsible for Hong Kong and Macau affairs to unprecedentedly level of security.

Zhang Dejiang was protected by heavily armed police officers and a 45-car cortege.

Zhang Dejiang spoke at a policy conference on Xi Jinping's One Belt, One Road economic project.

Zhang Dejiang is married to Xin Shusen, who was born in July 1949.

Zhang Dejiang served in a variety of senior executive roles at the China Construction Bank, and a member of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.