Chen Guangyi (; born August 1933) was a Chinese politician. He served as Governor of Gansu Province,

Communist Party Secretary A Party Committee Secretary () is the leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) organization in a province, city, village, or other administrative unit. In most cases, it is the ''de facto'' highest political office of its area of jurisdictio ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

Province, and Director of the

Civil Aviation Administration of China The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC; ) is the Chinese civil aviation authority under the Ministry of Transport. It oversees civil aviation and investigates aviation accidents and incidents. As the aviation authority responsible f ...

. Under his leadership, Fujian achieved record economic growth that exceeded the national rate in the 20th century.

Early life and career

Chen Guangyi was born in August 1933 in Putian,

Province. After graduating from the Mechanical-Electrical Department of Northeast China Engineering College (now Northeastern University) in 1953, he began working as a technician at the Ministry of Metallurgy. He joined the

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

in 1959.

Career in Gansu

By 1960 Chen was working in Gansu Province in

Northwest China Northwest China () is a statistical region of China which includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai. It has an area of 3,107,900 km2. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid con ...

, serving as a deputy division head for the Heavy Industry Department of Gansu, and Director of the Production Office of the Northwest China Nonferrous Metallurgical Design Academy (1964–1975). In 1980 he was promoted to Deputy Director of the Gansu Provincial Planning Committee, In March 1983, he was promoted to Deputy Party Secretary of Gansu, and a month later, Governor of Gansu Province. As governor, he focused on poverty relief, soil erosion, and mining. He became a member of the

12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from September 1982 to November 1987. It held seven plenary sessions. It was securely succeeded by the 13th Central Committee. It elected the 12th Politburo of the Chinese ...

in September 1985.

Career in Fujian

In March 1986, Chen was transferred to his home province of Fujian to serve as its Party Chief. It was said that

Jia Qinglin Jia Qinglin (; born 13 March 1940) is a retired senior leader of the People's Republic of China and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was a member of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, the party's highest ruling organ, between ...

, a northerner, was intended to replace the retiring party chief Xiang Nan, but because of opposition from Fujianese cadres, the top post of the province went to Chen Guangyi instead. Chen's performance as the top leader of Fujian was mixed. Starting in 1988, there was an infusion of Taiwanese investment and a record level of economic growth and foreign investment. Chen also supported the

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...

special economic zone A special economic zone (SEZ) is an area in which the business and trade laws are different from the rest of the country. SEZs are located within a country's national borders, and their aims include increasing trade balance, employment, increas ...

and

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CCP ...

's southern tour of 1992. He responded swiftly and effectively to the complaints, and throughout the rest of 1992, he worked with officials from Xiamen, Quanzhou, and

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefect ...

in southern Fujian on a strategy for growth. This resulted in strong performances in 1993, when Fujian had record economic growth which exceeded the national rate.

National government

In 1993, Chen was appointed Director of the

, and served in that position until 1998. After 1998, he mainly worked in the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...

(NPC), serving as Chairman of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee in the 9th NPC (1998–2003), and as Chairman of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee in the 10th NPC (2003–2008). Chen was a member of the 12th to the 15th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Guangyi 1933 births Living people Politicians from Putian Governors of Gansu Chinese Communist Party politicians from Fujian People's Republic of China politicians from Fujian Directors of the Civil Aviation Administration of China Northeastern University (China) alumni Members of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 13th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 15th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party