Ma Guoqiang (Chinese: 马国强; born November 1963) is a Chinese politician, engineer, and business executive. He had served as Deputy Communist Party Secretary of Hubei province and Communist Party Secretary of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, from 2018 to 2020. Ma previously served as Chairman of Baowu Group, China's largest steelmaker. He is an alternate member and then a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and was a delegate to the 8th National People's Congress.
Ma Guoqiang | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
马国强 | |||||||||
| Communist Party Secretary of Wuhan | |||||||||
| In office 20 July 2018 – 12 February 2020 | |||||||||
| Deputy | Zhou Xianwang (mayor) | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Chen Yixin | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wang Zhonglin | ||||||||
| Deputy Communist Party Secretary of Hubei | |||||||||
| In office March 2018 – 12 February 2020 | |||||||||
| Leader | Jiang Chaoliang (Party secretary) | ||||||||
| Preceded by | Chen Yixin | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Wang Zhonglin | ||||||||
| Chairman of Baowu Group | |||||||||
| In office October 2016 – June 2018 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | New position | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chen Derong | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | November 1963 (age 60–61) Dingzhou, Hebei, China | ||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Huazhong University of Science and Technology University of Science and Technology Beijing RWTH Aachen University | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 馬國強 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 马国强 | ||||||||
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Early life and education
editMa was born in Dingzhou, Hebei in November 1963. He is a member of the Hui ethnic group.[1]
In September 1980, he entered Huazhong Institute of Technology (now Huazhong University of Science and Technology), majoring in materials management and engineering. In September 1984 he entered the graduate school of Beijing Iron and Steel Institute (now University of Science and Technology Beijing) and joined the Chinese Communist Party in December 1985. After earning his master's degree in 1986, he was hired by the institute as a faculty member. In September 1991, he was sent to Germany to study at the RWTH Aachen University on a government scholarship. He returned to China in September 1993 and continued to teach at the University of Science and Technology Beijing.[1]
Career at Baowu
editMa began working at Baosteel of Shanghai in July 1995, and became director of the Planning and Finance Department in 1999. He became deputy general manager of Baosteel in March 2001 and was promoted to general manager in April 2009.[1] In July 2013, he was appointed general manager of Wuhan Iron and Steel Corporation. He was elevated to its chairman and party secretary in May 2015. When Baosteel and Wuhan Steel merged to form Baowu Steel in October 2016, he was appointed the chairman and party secretary of the new company, China's largest steelmaker.[2]
Political career
editMa was a delegate to the 8th National People's Congress (1993–1998).[3] He was elected an alternate member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017.[1] In March 2018, he was transferred from Baowu to the provincial government of Hubei and appointed deputy party secretary of the province. On 20 July 2018, he received the additional appointment as party secretary of Wuhan, the city's top official.[1] The position had been vacant for four months since his predecessor Chen Yixin was transferred to the national government.[1]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wuhan residents criticized Ma and his subordinate, mayor Zhou Xianwang for their slow response to the epidemic.[4][5][6] In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on 27 January 2020, Zhou admitted that the city government had failed to promptly disclose information about the outbreak and offered to resign, although he added that "it's an infectious disease, and relevant information should be released according to the law. As a local government, we can only disclose information after being authorized."[7][8][9] When Ma was interviewed by television host Bai Yansong four days later, he expressed his feelings of "regret, guilt and self-blame".[10]
On February 13, 2020, Ma was removed from his posts as deputy party secretary of Hubei and party secretary of Wuhan.[11][12] He was succeeded by Wang Zhonglin, Communist Party Secretary of Jinan.[12][13]
In August 2021, he became a member of the Party Branch Committee of Hubei People's Congress.[14] On 23 January 2022, he became vice chairman of Hubei People's Congress.[15]
In October 2022, he became a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f 马国强任武汉市委书记，已空缺4个月. Sohu (in Chinese). 20 July 2018. Archived from the original on 30 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "China's Baowu Steel says will consider other M&A opportunities". reuters. 22 October 2017. Archived from the original on 27 May 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "中华人民共和国第八届全国人民代表大会代表名单". National People's Congress. 1993. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
- ^ "Mayor of China's Wuhan Draws Online Ire for '80 Out of 100' Interview". New York Times. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ "UPDATE 1-Mayor of China's Wuhan draws online ire for '80 out of 100' interview". reuters. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Josephine Ma; Zhuang Pinghui (26 January 2020). "5 million left Wuhan before lockdown, 1,000 new coronavirus cases expected in city". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 28 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Lu Zhenghua (28 January 2020). "Wuhan Mayor Offers to Resign Over Coronavirus Response". caixinglobal. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Sarah Zheng (23 January 2020). "Wuhan mayor under pressure to resign over response to coronavirus outbreak". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ Yang Zekun (27 January 2020). "Wuhan mayor says will resign if it helps control outbreak". Chinadaily. Archived from the original on 29 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
- ^ "武汉市委书记马国强：我现在是一种内疚、愧疚、自责的心态". The Paper. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
- ^ Dong Xin (董鑫) (13 February 2020). 马国强不再担任武汉市委书记，曾自责没有“早点决定、采取措施”. ifeng.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ a b William Zheng (13 February 2020). "Coronavirus: Beijing's purge over virus takes down top Communist Party officials in Hubei". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ Ming Xiaoli (明小莉), ed. (13 February 2020). 济南市委书记王忠林任武汉市委书记，接替马国强. taihainet.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ Wu Xiaodong (武晓东) (25 August 2021). 马国强，新职明确. sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ Yi Yi (伊一) (23 January 2022). 王艳玲、马国强当选湖北省人大常委会副主任. ce.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ Lin Yunshi (林韵诗) (12 October 2022). 十九届七中全会闭幕 三人递补为中央委员. caixin.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 October 2022.