Jin Renqing (; 29 July 1944 – 28 August 2021) was a Chinese politician, member of the

16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 2002 to 2007. It held seven plenary sessions. It was set in motion by the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The 15th Central Committee preceded it. ...

, serving as deputy chief of the Development Research Center of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

. He also served as

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 2003 to 2007.

Biography

Jin was born in

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

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 ...

, on 29 July 1944. Jin served in such positions as commissioner of the State Administration of Taxation, vice governor of

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

, deputy secretary general of the State Council, and executive vice mayor of

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 served as

Finance Minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, from 2003 until his resignation at age 63 in August 2007. During his tenure, China enjoyed economic growth and an increase in foreign currency reserves, while also experiencing an increase in its trade deficit to the US. Jin was succeeded by tax administrator

Xie Xuren Xie Xuren (; born October 1947) is a Chinese politician, serving since 2013 as the Chair of the National Council for Social Security Fund. Previously he served as Minister of Finance of People's Republic of China, and Director-General of the St ...

. On 28 August 2021, he died of fire burns in

Haidian District Haidian District () is a district of the municipality of Beijing. It is mostly situated in northwestern Beijing, but also to a lesser extent in the west, where it has borders with Xicheng District and Fengtai District. It is 431 square km in a ...

, aged 77.

Sex scandal

At the time of Jin's resignation the Hong Kong media have speculated a

sex scandal Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...

. On 8 September 2007, ''

Ming Pao ''Ming Pao'' () is a Chinese-language newspaper published by Media Chinese International in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, ''Ming Pao'' established four overseas branches in North America; each provides independent reporting on local news and colle ...

'' reported that, Jin was in detention assisting security officials with their enquiries. In June 2011,

WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous Source (journalism), sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activism, Internet acti ...

released a leaked US State Department cable dated 20 September 2007 which claims that Jin was sacked for his role in a sex scandal with a female intelligence operative from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. The cable claims that the alleged

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

had affairs with several Chinese officials including former agricultural minister

Du Qinglin Du Qinglin (; born November 1946 in Panshi, Jilin City, Jilin) is a politician of the People's Republic of China. He formerly serves as vice chairman of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and a Secretary of the Secretaria ...

, former party secretary of

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

Du Shicheng and the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) chairman Chen Tonghai.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jin, Renqing 1944 births 2021 deaths People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Politicians from Suzhou Deputy mayors of Beijing Ministers of Finance of the People's Republic of China Political office-holders in Yunnan Central University of Finance and Economics alumni Deaths from fire