Cheng Siwei (June 1935 – 12 July 2015) was a Chinese

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

chemical engineer In the field of engineering, a chemical engineer is a professional, equipped with the knowledge of chemical engineering, who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of products and deals with the ...

and politician. He was the Chairman of China Soft Science Research Association; President of the Chinese Society for Management Modernization; Director of the Research Center on Fictitious Economy and Data Science,

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

; Dean of the School of Management of the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Honorary President of

East China University of Science and Technology East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST, ) is a public research university with two campuses located in Shanghai, China. Established in 1952 as East China Institute of Chemical Technology, it has evolved from an institution with ...

. He was also an Adjunct Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of institutions including 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 ...

Guanghua School of Management The Guanghua School of Management () is the business school of Peking University in Beijing, China. The school offers undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs, with a total enrollment of more than 3,000 students. In addition to full-time aca ...

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

Nankai University Nankai University (NKU or Nankai; ) is a national public research university located in Tianjin, China. It is a prestigious Chinese state Class A Double First Class University approved by the central government of China, and a member of the f ...

Early life and education

Cheng Siwei was born June 1935, in Xiangxiang, Hunan Province, China. He attended Heung To Middle School in Hong Kong from 1948–1951; he then moved to Mainland China. During 1951–1952 he attended the Workers' College of Guangzhou South University, China. He then attended the

South China Institute of Technology The South China University of Technology (SCUT; ) is a public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. The university is co-sponsored by the China Ministry of Education and the Guangdong Provincial People's Government. The university is a mu ...

and

East China Institute of Chemical Technology East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST, ) is a public research university with two campuses located in Shanghai, China. Established in 1952 as East China Institute of Chemical Technology, it has evolved from an institution with ...

from 1952–1956, majoring in inorganic chemical technology, and in 1958–1973 he worked in various units of both the Ministry of Chemical Industry and the Ministry of Petroleum and Chemical Industries.

Career

Business and Investors Forum China 2012-0091

He was the Chief Engineer of the Science & Technology Bureau of the Ministry of Chemical Industry (China) in 1973–1981. In 1981 he attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

, and graduated in 1984 with a Master of Business Administration (MBA). He then returned to his former position as Chief Engineer of the Science & Technology Bureau of the Ministry of Chemical Industry until 1988, when he was promoted to the Vice-President and Chief Engineer of the Scientific and Technical Research Institute of the Ministry of Chemical Industry. He became the Deputy Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Chemical Industry in 1993 and Vice-Minister of Chemical Industry in 1994–1997. During the same period, he held the position of the Chairman of the China Democratic National Construction Association (CDNCA) Central Committee, from 1996-1997. He continued to hold dual positions for nearly ten years, as the Chairman of the 7th and 8th Central Committees of the Chairman of the China Democratic National Construction Association (CDNCA) from 1997–2007, and as the Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Ninth and Tenth National People’s Congresses in 1998–2008. During this time, he was also awarded an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration from

Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is a public research university located in Hung Hom, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. The University is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded ...

Academics

His research mainly covers complexity science, fictitious economy,

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which h ...

, chemical systems engineering, soft science and

management science Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

. He has published several books, including ''Chromic Salts Technology'', ''Rejuvenating Chemical Industry through Science and Technology'', ''Soft Science and Reform'', ''Large Linear Target Programming and Application'', ''Research in China's Economic Development and Reform'' and ''Economic Reform and Development in China''. In 2010, he began having his works translated into English and published through Enrich Professional Publishing "2102 Economic Reforms & Development in China & Book Launch"
''China's Sina News'', Jan 6, 2012 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, for a worldwide readership. The books ''Selected Works of Cheng Siwei, Economic Reforms and Development in China: Three-Volume Set'' are some of his most recent works. He has nearly 300 publications under his name at home and abroad. In recent years, he has devoted himself to the use of complexity science to study issues relating to the development and reform of China, made enormous efforts to explore and explain the characteristics and law of development of the fictitious economy, and actively studied and promoted the development of

in China.

The Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in e ...

has hosted him as
speaker
in an effort to find out more about China's 12th 5-year-plan, including its top-level policy objectives.

Death

Cheng Siwei died in Beijing on the morning of 12 July 2015 at the age of 80.

Published works

*Chromic Salts Technology *Rejuvenating Chemical Industry through Science and Technology *Soft Science and Reform *Large Linear Target Programming and Application Reform *The U.S. Financial Crisis: Analysis and Interpretation. San Francisco: Long River Press, 2012. *Selected Works of Cheng Siwei, Economic Reforms and Development in China: Three-Volume Set *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheng, Siwei 1935 births 2015 deaths People's Republic of China economists People's Republic of China politicians from Hunan Vice Chairpersons of the National People's Congress Members of the China National Democratic Construction Association UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni South China University of Technology alumni East China University of Science and Technology alumni Politicians from Xiangtan Educators from Hunan Economists from Hunan Chinese chemical engineers Chemists from Hunan Engineers from Hunan