Zhang Chunxian (; born 12 May 1953) is a Chinese politician best known for his term as 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

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwes ...

Uyghur Autonomous Region, and the Political Commissar of the

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (), also known as XPCC or Bingtuan ("The Corps"), is a state-owned economic and paramilitary organization in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). In its history, the XPCC has built ...

from 2010 to 2016. From 2005 to 2010 he was the Party Secretary of

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangx ...

Province.

Early life

Born into an ordinary family in Yuzhou,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is a ...

province, Zhang joined the military at the age of 17. After four years in the army, he went back to his hometown to work on a farm. He then went to school at the Northeastern Heavy Machinery Institute (now Yanshan University).

Career

After graduating, he obtained a state-assigned job at the No. 3 Machinery Ministry, working as an aerospace engineering technician. At a research institute under the ministry, Zhang quickly made a name for himself and rose through the ranks, eventually becoming leader of the institute. In 1991, he was identified as a young talent by the party organization. He was transferred to Beijing to work for the

Ministry of Supervision The Ministry of Supervision of the People's Republic of China (MOS) was a Cabinet-level department of the State Council responsible for maintaining an efficient, disciplined, clean and honest government, and educate public servants about their ...

, then was transferred to the China National Food and Packaging Machinery Corporation to serve as chief executive. In August 1995, Zhang was sent to

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in 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 Kunming. The province borders the ...

province to become assistant to the governor, then vice-governor, overseeing science and technology. Two years later, Zhang headed back to Beijing to serve as deputy minister, and later minister, of

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...

from 1998 to 2005. In 2005, Zhang became the

Chinese Communist Party Committee 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 jurisdicti ...

of Hunan province. In 2006, Zhang simultaneously took on the role of chairman of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress. Zhang replaced

Wang Lequan Wang Lequan (born December 1944) is a retired Chinese politician, most notable for being the Communist Party Secretary in Xinjiang, the autonomous region's top political office, between 1994 and 2010. From 2004 to 2012, Wang was also a member ...

as secretary of the Communist Party of the

Uyghur Autonomous Region in April 2010 and was replaced by

Zhou Qiang Zhou Qiang (; born 25 April 1960) is a Chinese politician who is the current Chief Justice and President of the Supreme People's Court of China. Previously, he served as the secretary of the Chinese Communist Party's Hunan committee, the effec ...

in his role as secretary of the Communist Party and chairman of the provincial People's Congress. Zhang was credited with bringing

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

(BRT) to Urumqi's major thoroughfares, the construction of the Xinjiang International Convention Centre, and the resumption of internet connections in the region following a one-year long ban in the aftermath of the

July 2009 Ürümqi riots The July 2009 Ürümqi riots were a series of violent riots over several days that broke out on 5 July 2009 in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in northwestern China. The first day's rioting, which ...

. He has been a member of the 16th, 17th and

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect numb ...

Central Committees. He was elected to the

18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The 18th Central Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party () was elected by the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on 15 November 2012, which was formally elected by the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Part ...

in 2012. Zhang is known for his use of a popular microblog service supported by

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the wo ...

, which spiked in usage during the

2011 National People's Congress The 4th Session of the 11th National People's Congress held its annual meeting in March 2011 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. The event opened on 5 March and concluded on 14 March. The meeting was expected to approve the countr ...

. He was the highest-ranking Chinese official of his generation to maintain a microblog. After Zhang departed Xinjiang, he was named the deputy leader of the Leading Group for Party Building, a group headed by

Liu Yunshan Liu Yunshan (; ; born July 1947) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the top decision-making body of the CCP, between 2012 and 2017; he was broadly tasked with the wo ...

. Political analysts noted that his involvement in party cohesion and organization was a promotion, possibly even an indication that he would be groomed to take on a more substantial party affairs role following the 19th Party Congress. His first public appearance as part of the Party Building group was a visit to the Communist revolutionary heartland of

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an) ...

. However, other observers have interpreted the move more pessimistically, noting that it in fact mirrors Wang Lequan's own departure from Xinjiang six years earlier when he was given a seemingly token role as a deputy to then security-tsar Zhou Yongkang. Zhang was considered a candidate for ascension to the

Politburo Standing Committee 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 ...

at the Congress in 2017, but ultimately did not make the cut. He relinquished his Politburo membership in 2017 but maintained his Central Committee membership. On March 17, 2018, Zhang was elected as a Vice Chairperson of the National People's Congress (NPC).

Sanctions

On 7 December 2020, pursuant to

Executive Order 13936 Executive Order 13936, entitled "The President’s Executive Order on Hong Kong Normalization", is an executive order signed by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 14, 2020. On the same day Trump had signed into law Hong Kong Autonomy Act, one ...

, the

US Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

imposed sanctions on all 14 Vice Chairpersons of the NPC, including Zhang, for "undermining Hong Kong's autonomy and restricting the freedom of expression or assembly."

References

External links

Biography of Zhang Chunxian

Xinhuanet Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Chunxian 1953 births People's Republic of China politicians from Henan Politicians from Xuchang Living people Chinese Communist Party politicians from Henan Political office-holders in Hunan Political office-holders in Xinjiang Ministers of Transport of the People's Republic of China Members of the 18th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Individuals sanctioned by the United States under the Hong Kong Autonomy Act Chinese individuals subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions