Ding Xuexiang (; born 13 September 1962) is a Chinese politician and the sixth-ranked member of the

Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), officially the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Histori ...

. As the director of the

General Office A General Office (also known as "administrative office") is an important administrative political organ in the communist party organizations and communist countries (such as China, Laos and Vietnam for instance). Generally speaking, the General Offi ...

of the CCP, Ding serves as an important political aide of

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

, current

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

(CCP). Ding served on Xi's staff beginning in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, then followed him to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. He is also a member of the 19th Party Politburo, and a Secretary of the Party Secretariat.

Early life and education

Ding Xuexiang was born in

Nantong Nantong (; alternate names: Nan-t'ung, Nantung, Tongzhou, or Tungchow; Qihai dialect: ) is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth. ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

province, on 13 September 1962. He graduated from the Northeast Heavy Machinery Institute in

Qinghuangdao Qinhuangdao (; ) is a port city on the coast of China in northern Hebei. It is administratively a prefecture-level city, about east of Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea. Its population during the 2020 national ...

, later renamed

Yanshan University Yanshan University () is a university in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China under the provincial government. It has a student population of 39,000 and a staff population of 3,200 (2,058 are teachers, including 413 full professors and 630 associate prof ...

, in 1982 with a degree in engineering. Ding Xuexiang got his first job at the Shanghai Research Institute of Materials (SRIM) from 1982 to 1999, and joined the

in 1984. Ding Xuexiang received a master's degree in public administration from Fudan University's School of Management in 1993. At the Shanghai Research Institute of Materials, Ding advanced rapidly through various research, administrative, and party positions.

Political career

Ding's rise to the Politburo was achieved primarily by climbing the ranks of the party. Ding moved into politics after obtaining his first

cadre Cadre may refer to: *Cadre (military), a group of officers or NCOs around whom a unit is formed, or a training staff *Cadre (politics), a politically controlled appointment to an institution in order to circumvent the state and bring control to th ...

position, as the Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Science & Technology Commission, in 1999. Throughout his tenure at the SRIM, he attained leadership roles in propaganda, organization, general office, politics, and legal affairs, gaining valuable experience in all said fields. He moved up the ranks of the party apparatus in Shanghai, finishing off his time in the city as Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee in 2013. He would first be elected to the Central Committee as an alternate member at the

18th Party Congress The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held November 8-15, 2012 at the Great Hall of the People. It was preceded by the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Due to term and age limits restrictions, seven o ...

in 2012.

Politburo and Secretariat

Ding joined the

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...

and the

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

of the CCP in October 2017, as the director of the CCP General Office, and remained his post of the CCP General Secretary's office director (chief of staff). Following the first plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in October 2022, Ding was elevated to the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ding, Xuexiang Fudan University alumni Politicians from Nantong Living people People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu Alternate members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 19th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 20th Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party 1962 births