Xu Kuangdi (; born December 1936) is a Chinese politician and scientist, best known for his term as Mayor of Shanghai from 1995 to 2001. He supervised the transformation of

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

during his administration into a center for international investment and trade that helped lead the intensive development of China's economy. Between 2003 and 2008, Xu served as Vice-Chairman 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 (China), united front system. Its members adv ...

Biography

Xu was born in Tongxiang,

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

province, near Shanghai. He graduated from Hangzhou High School. He graduated from the Beijing Institute of Iron and Steel Engineering in 1959, during the midst of the

Great Leap Forward The Great Leap Forward was an industrialization campaign within China from 1958 to 1962, led by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Party Chairman Mao Zedong launched the campaign to transform the country from an agrarian society into an indu ...

, and was a professor there from 1959 to 1963, then at the Shanghai Institute of Engineering from 1963 to 1971, through the height of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. He did not join 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 ...

until 1983. He studied in Britain in 1982 and 1983 and worked in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 1984 to 1985; he also won a national award for his design of a

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

pipe for use in aircraft production. He held a number of other academic positions through 1991, when Zhu appointed him as director of the Shanghai Municipal Planning Commission, allegedly because he had remarked that he hated central planning. Xu was Mayor of Shanghai from 1995-2001. During his tenure, Shanghai's Pudong New Area developed rapidly. However, Xu was demoted in 2001, to a far more obscure position as party chief of the Academy of Engineering in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, apparently as the result of an internal party power struggles. Xu was replaced by Executive Vice-Mayor Chen Liangyu, one of Jiang's associates who was later convicted on charges of corruption. From 2003 to 2008 Xu was a Vice-Chairman of the

. He is a professor and doctoral supervisor at Shanghai University. He retired on June 11, 2010 from his post as the Party Chief and President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. In 2014, he was appointed to lead the advisory panel for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Xu is Xi Xinping's lead advisor on the development of Xiong'an, as of at least 2023. Xu was an alternate member of the

14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The 14th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party was in session from 1992 to 1997. It held seven plenary sessions. It was preceded by the 13th Central Committee. It was elected by the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party ...

and a full member of the 15th and 16th Central Committees.

Honours

In 2004 Xu was elected as an International

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the UK

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

. On June 28, 2011, Xu received an honorary

Doctor of Engineering The Doctor of Engineering (DEng or EngD) or Doctor of Engineering Sciences is a research doctorate in engineering and applied science. An EngD is a terminal degree similar to a PhD in engineering but applicable more in industry rather than in ac ...

degree from the

City University of Hong Kong The City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) is a public research university in Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as the City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and formally established as the City University of Hong Kong in 1994 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Kuangdi 1936 births Living people 20th-century mayors of places in China 21st-century mayors of places in China Hangzhou High School alumni Mayors of Shanghai Chinese metallurgists Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Politicians from Jiaxing People's Republic of China politicians from Zhejiang Chinese Communist Party politicians from Zhejiang Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Commanders Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star Foreign associates of the National Academy of Engineering