Liu Guozhong (; born July 1962) is a Chinese politician and a member of the

Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the executive committee of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Currently, the bureau i ...

who has served as a

vice premier of China The vice premiers of the State Council of the People's Republic of China serves as a deputy leader within the State Council. In terms of administrative hierarchy, the Vice Premier holds a position superior to that of ministers, commission dir ...

since March 2023. He began his career in

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

province before serving stints at the

All-China Federation of Trade Unions The All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) is the national trade union center and people's organization of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest trade union in the world with 302 million members in 1,713,000 primary tra ...

and as

deputy party secretary In modern Chinese politics, a Deputy Party Committee Secretary (; also translated as Deputy Party Secretary, deputy party chief, vice party chief) serves as the lieutenant to the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary, and thus the depu ...

of Sichuan. He had served as Governor of

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

and

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

from 2016 to 2020. He served as the

Party Secretary of Shaanxi The secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the leader of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As the CCP is the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ...

from 2020 to 2022.

Early life

Liu was born in Wangkui County,

province. He joined the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) in November 1986. He attended the Nanjing Institute of Technology where he majored in artillery system fuse design and manufacturing, and has a graduate degree from the

Harbin Institute of Technology The Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) is a public science and engineering university in Nan'gang, Harbin, Heilongjiang, China. It is one of the top universities in China and now affiliated with the Ministry of Industry and Information Techn ...

Political career

Liu began his political career in the General Office of the provincial government of Heilongjiang, serving as a clerk, deputy chief clerk and chief clerk in the Comprehensive Planning Division of the Economic Commission in 1990. He served as a chief clerk in the First Division of the General Office of the Heilongjiang provincial government in 1993. He became the deputy director of the First Division in 1996, becoming its director in 1998. In 2000, he became the deputy director of the Research Office of the provincial government, becoming its director in 2003. He became the deputy director of Research and party secretary of

Hegang Hegang ( zh, s=鹤岗, p=Hègǎng, also known as Heli and Xingshan), is a prefecture-level city in Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China, situated in the southeastern section of the Lesser Khingan Range, facing Jiamusi across t ...

in 2004. He was appointed a member of the Heilongjiang

provincial party standing committee Members of the standing committees of the Chinese Communist Party provincial-level committees, commonly referred to as ''Shengwei Changwei'' (), make up the top ranks of the provincial-level organizations of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). I ...

in April 2007, then the secretary-general of the party committee in May the same year, and in September 2011, named executive vice governor of Heilongjiang. In October 2013, Liu was named a member of the Secretariat of the

. In February 2016, he was transferred to become deputy party secretary of Sichuan. He served for ten months, before being transferred to

to become acting

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, confirmed by the provincial People's Congress on January 19, 2017.

Shaanxi

In December 2017, he was appointed as deputy party secretary of

. Later he was appointed as the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

. In July 2020, he was appointed to be the party secretary of Shaanxi succeeding Hu Heping. During his tenure in September 2021, Xi'an hosted the

National Games of China The National Games of the People's Republic of China is the highest-level comprehensive multi-sport event of China. It is hosted by the General Administration of Sport of China. The games is held every four years, usually in the summer or a ...

; Liu said the games would help achieve the

Chinese Dream The Chinese Dream, also called the China Dream, is a term closely associated with Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and China's paramount leader. Xi began promoting the phrase as a slogan during a high-profil ...

. He also saw Shaanxi's response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was succeeded as

Party secretary of Shaanxi The secretary of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party is the leader of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As the CCP is the sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ...

on 27 November 2022, being succeeded by

Zhao Yide Zhao Yide (; born February 19, 1965) is a Chinese politician and the current Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Shaanxi, and was previously the Governor of Shaanxi. Earlier in his career, he served as the Party Secretary of Hangzhou ...

Vice Premier

After the 20th Party National Congress, he was elected as a member of the

CCP Politburo The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is the executive committee of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. Currently, the bureau is ...

. In January 2023, he visited

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

, calling for stronger medical response to the

. On 12 March 2023, he was appointed as a

. His portfolio included agriculture and rural affairs, health, poverty alleviation, and meteorology. Liu toured Beijing and Hebei in August 2023, after floods and mudslides hit Xi'an. In September 2023, Liu visited North Korea to attend the country's 75th national day parade. Liu also met with North Korean leader

Kim Jong Un Kim Jong Un (born 8 January 1983 or 1984) is a North Korean politician and dictator who has served as supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is the third son of Kim ...

. In January 2024, Liu visited Uganda to attend the

Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

summit and the Third South Summit. In May 2024, addressing the members of the

Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)'s united front system. Its members advise and put proposals ...

, Liu said China needed to "systematically plan its population policy and increase social support for childbearing to alleviate the financial burdens associated with parenthood and children’s education".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Guozhong 1962 births People from Suihua Living people Governors of Shaanxi Governors of Jilin People's Republic of China politicians from Heilongjiang Nanjing Institute of Technology alumni Harbin Institute of Technology alumni Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Members of the 20th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Deputy Communist Party secretaries of Shaanxi Vice premiers of the People's Republic of China Chinese Communist Party politicians from Heilongjiang