Republican era
Early life and education
Li Qiang was born as on 26 September 1905 in Changshu, Jiangsu, Qing dynasty. Originally named Zeng Peihong () with the courtesy name Youfan (), he was a member of the prominent Zeng clan of Changsu, said to be descended from Zengzi, a major disciple of Confucius. He studied at Zongwen School in Hangzhou, but was expelled in 1923 for writing an article criticizing Confucianist traditions. He moved to Shanghai and enrolled at the High School Affiliated to Donghua University, Nanyang Railroad and Mining Speciality School (), which used English language, English as its Medium of instruction, language of instruction, and studied under the Kuomintang elder Ye Chucang ().May Thirtieth Movement
Li became a Communist during the May Thirtieth Movement, which began when the Shanghai Municipal Police, police of the Shanghai International Settlement opened fire on Chinese protesters, killing 11. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in August 1925 and made dynamite and grenades in July 1926 to prepare for the in support of Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition from Guangzhou. He is thus considered a founder of Communist China's arms industry. In March 1927, when the Northern Expedition army took over Changshu, Li was appointed as a member of the temporary executive committee of his hometown.Central Special Operations Division (''Teke'')
On 12 April 1927, Chiang Kai-shek's KMT launched a coup against his Communist allies and Shanghai massacre, massacred them in Shanghai. The surviving Communists went underground and established its intelligence agency, the Central Special Operations Division (; known by its Chinese abbreviation ''Teke''), led by Zhou Enlai. Because of Li's experience in bomb-making and his familiarity with Shanghai's Green Gang, Zhou and Gu Shunzhang recruited him into ''Teke'' and made him head of communications, one of ''Teke''Exile in the Soviet Union
In April 1931, Gu Shunzhang, the head of the Red Squad, defected after he was captured by the KMT in Wuhan. Thanks to the quick reactions of Qian Zhuangfei and Li Kenong, ''Teke''Second Sino-Japanese War and Chinese Civil War
After the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Li was granted permission to return to China at the end of 1937, as his technical expertise was urgently needed by the Communist headquarters in Yan'an. He was appointed head of the Bureau of Military Industry, tasked with establishing an arms industry in rural Yan'an. In 1939, the Bureau of Military Industry created the CCP's first self-made rifle, a Type 79 rifle. By 1943, the bureau had manufactured nearly 10,000 rifles, 1,500 grenade launchers and many other weapons. During the Yan'an Rectification Movement, Li protected top technical experts such as and from persecution. In May 1944, he was appointed President of Yan'an Natural Science Institute, the CCP's first technical university, and reformed its curriculum to serve industrial and agricultural production. During the Chinese Civil War, Li oversaw arms production in Communist-controlled areas. He also established a shortwave radio station for the Xinhua News Agency to broadcast messages from the CCP leadership.People's Republic of China
From 1949 to the Cultural Revolution
After the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Li was appointed Director of the General Administration of Radio and the General Administration of Telecommunications. Because of his technical expertise and proficiency in Russian, in August 1952 Mao Zedong appointed Li as Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Commercial Counselor at the Chinese embassy in Moscow. He was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1955. From April 1956 to October 1958, he served concurrently as a member of the Aviation Industry Committee of the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of National Defense. In March 1961, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Commission of Foreign Economic Relations (later Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations). He also held positions in the China Electronics Society and the Electronics Research Institute.Vietnam War
During the Cultural Revolution, Premier Zhou Enlai protected Li Qiang by assigning a high-ranking People's Liberation Army officer to his office and appointing another soldier as his secretary. During the Vietnam War, Li was a key member of the CCP's leading group overseeing China's aid to North Vietnam, which was crucial to its victory against the United States. In late 1970, he secretly visited the Ho Chi Minh trail to inspect the transport route of North Vietnamese troops to South Vietnam. In 1972, Li informed North Vietnam that China agreed to supply and ship critical weaponry and ammunition they requested for fighting in South Vietnam. Li's role in the Vietnam War helped shield him from attacks by the Red Guards.Minister of Foreign Trade
In October 1973, Li was promoted to Minister of Foreign Trade, replacing Bai Xiangguo, who had been dismissed. MFT was a large, important ministry with many layers of organization, which served not only commercial, but also diplomatic functions. Li was appointed partly because China became interested in importing Western technology. Yao Yilin, who later became a vice-premier and Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, Politburo member, served as his deputy. Li's eight-year tenure as Minister of Foreign Trade witnessed the improvement of China's foreign relations with the West. By October 1977, he had signed 197 deals to import technology and machinery from many Western countries, which greatly helped modernize China's industry, agriculture, and national defence. After the fall of the Gang of Four, he politically rehabilitated more than 2,000 people in his ministry who had been denounced and persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Li retired in September 1981, although he continued to hold many honorary positions afterwards. Li was a member of the 9th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, 9th, 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, 10th, and 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and of the 12th Central Advisory Commission. He was also a member of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th National People's Congress.Personal life
Li was married to Wei Huantu (). They had two sons, Li Yanming () and Li Xiaoqiang (), and a daughter, Li Xiaotu (). Li was diagnosed with liver cancer in 1991. He died in Beijing on 29 September 1996, three days after his 91st birthday. He was buried in the Yushan Scenic Area in his hometown Changshu.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Qiang 1905 births 1996 deaths Chinese expatriates in the Soviet Union Chinese military engineers Chinese people of World War II Chinese spies Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jiangsu Deaths from cancer in the People's Republic of China Deaths from liver cancer People from Changshu Members of the 9th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 10th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences People's Republic of China politicians from Jiangsu Politicians from Suzhou