Shi Taifeng (; born September 1956) is a Chinese politician currently serving as the head of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, a member of the

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, formally known as the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and known as the Central Bureau before 1927, is the decision-making body of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). ...

, and a secretary of the

Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, is a body serving the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and its Standing Committee. The secretariat is ...

. He previously served as the President of the

Chinese Academy of Social Sciences The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

in 2022. Originally from Shanxi province, Shi spent part of his career at the Central Party School. He has also served as the Communist Party Secretary of

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 trad ...

, the Deputy Party Secretary, the Governor of

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

province, the

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 ...

of the

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Ningxia (,; , ; alternately romanized as Ninghsia), officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR), is an autonomous region in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1 ...

, and the

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

Biography

Shi Taifeng was born in Yushe County, Shanxi, in 1956. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

he was a

sent-down youth The sent-down, rusticated, or "educated" youth (), also known as the ''zhiqing'', were the young people who—beginning in the 1950s until the end of the Cultural Revolution, willingly or under coercion—left the urban districts of the ...

in his home county, performing manual labour. He then studied machinery at a local college before entering the work force as a factory worker. Following the resumption of the National College Entrance Exams, Shi was admitted to

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

and obtained a master's degree in law. He was classmates with

Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affa ...

, who later became Premier. After graduation, he served as a political instructor at the Central Party School. He worked as the deputy party chief of Jin County, Hebei, before joining the research office of the Central Party School, then heading the Organization Department of the school. He spent about a year studying abroad at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

in the Netherlands. In July 2001, Shi was named vice president of the Central Party School. In 2008, Shi became a member of the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), which is the highest organ of state po ...

, a member of the Law Committee of the NPC. In September 2010 he joined the provincial Party Standing Committee and became head of the Organization Department of the Jiangsu party organization. He subsequently was elevated to deputy party chief of

province. In June 2014 he began serving concurrently as the party chief of

, an important city on the

Yangtze River Delta The Yangtze Delta or Yangtze River Delta (YRD, or simply ) is a triangle-shaped megalopolis generally comprising the Wu Chinese-speaking areas of Shanghai, southern Jiangsu and northern Zhejiang. The area lies in the heart of the Jiangnan re ...

and an area of high concentration for manufacturing and foreign investment. During this time it was said that Shi honed his credentials as 'first-in-charge' of a major city, in preparation for his taking higher office.江苏省委副书记石泰峰兼任苏州市委书记
People.com In December 2015, after a series of consultative meetings, Shi Taifeng was elevated to acting Governor of Jiangsu province, replacing

Li Xueyong Li Xueyong (; born September 1950) is a Chinese politician. He served as Governor of Jiangsu Province from 2010 to 2015. An academic-turned-politician, Li served for many years in the Ministry of Science and Technology. Career Li was born in Sh ...

, who retired due to age. He was duly confirmed as governor by a full session of the provincial People's Congress on January 28, 2016. In April 2017, Shi appointed as the

of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In October 2019, Shi was appointed as the Communist Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. In May 2022, he was appointed as the president and party secretary of the

, succeeding

Xie Fuzhan Xie Fuzhan (; born 9 August 1954) is a Chinese economist and politician who served as the President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Communist Party Secretary and governor of Henan province. Before that, he was the Director of ...

. Shi is an alternate member of the

18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was elected by the 18th National Congress on 15 November 2012, and sat in plenary sessions until the communing of the 19th National Congress in 2017. It was formally proceeded by the 17t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shi, Taifeng 1956 births Living people People's Republic of China politicians from Shanxi Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shanxi Governors of Jiangsu Peking University alumni Vice-governors of Jiangsu Political office-holders in Ningxia Political office-holders in Inner Mongolia People from Yushe County Alternate members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 20th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Politicians from Jinzhong Delegates to the 11th National People's Congress Delegates to the 12th National People's Congress Members of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress