Zhang Qingwei (; born 7 November 1961) is a Chinese politician, business executive, and
aerospace engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...
, who is a
vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. He was formerly the
Party Secretary of Hunan, the
Party Secretary of Heilongjiang,
Governor of Hebei, and chairperson of the
Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND). Prior to his government career he was president of
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) and chairman of
Comac, an aerospace manufacturer.
Zhang was well known for his work for military contractors, and headed the team that designed and constructed the
Xian JH-7 "flying leopard" combat aircraft. He was also the deputy leader of the project to send a Chinese man into space, and the leader of the
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, ''
Chang'e 1''. In 2009, Zhang was named one of China's 40 most powerful people by ''
BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
''.
Early life and education
Zhang was born in
Jilin City,
Jilin Province on 7 November 1961,
but is considered a native of his
ancestral home of
Laoting County,
Hebei
Hebei is a Provinces of China, province in North China. It is China's List of Chinese administrative divisions by population, sixth-most populous province, with a population of over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. It bor ...
province by Chinese convention.
His family later moved to
Tangshan, Hebei.
Zhang studied at the aircraft department of
Northwestern Polytechnical University (NPU) in
Xi'an
Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
from September 1978 to August 1982, majoring in aircraft design.
After graduation, he was assigned to No. 603 Research Institute of the
Ministry of Aerospace Industry, designing aircraft tails.
Within three years he became the leader of a team that developed the
FBC-1 fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fighter aircraft that has been modified, or used primarily, as a light bomber or attack aircraft. It differs from bomber and attack aircraft primarily in its origins, as a fighter that has been adapted into other roles, wh ...
that is still in use by the
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
.
In 1985, Zhang returned to NPU to continue his studies, and received a Master of Engineering degree in aircraft control in 1988.
Aerospace industry
In 1988 Zhang returned to work for the Ministry of Aerospace Industry and later joined
China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT), the birthplace of China's
Long March rocket.
He showed exceptional talent at CALT
and was credited with the 1990 launch of the
AsiaSat 1 satellite for the American company
Hughes Satellite Systems. It marked the first time for the Long March rocket to successfully launch a foreign satellite.
After the success with AsiaSat 1, Zhang was tasked with developing the
Long March 2 rocket for China's
human spaceflight
Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, often with the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be ...
program (later called the
Shenzhou program). He became the deputy director of CALT in 1996,
and the vice-manager of the newly established
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) in 1999. In 2001 he was appointed president of CASC, and starting in February 2002 he concurrently served as deputy chief commander of the Shenzhou program.
In October 2003
Shenzhou 5 completed China's first ever human spaceflight mission, and two years later two more astronauts safely returned to earth after a five-day spaceflight on
Shenzhou 6.
In August 2007 Zhang was appointed chairperson of the
Commission for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (COSTIND), becoming one of the youngest persons to hold a minister-level post in China.
He guided the merger of COSTIND with the
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2008.
He also concurrently served as head of the
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.
In 2008 Zhang was appointed chairman of the
Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac),
a
state-owned enterprise
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
that was newly established to develop China's own
jumbo jets.
In 2009, he drew international attention after being named one of China's 40 most powerful people by ''
BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
''.
Political career
Zhang 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 December 1992. In 2002, less than ten years after he joined the party, he was appointed to the
16th Central Committee of the CCP, the party's top authority.
At age 41 he was the youngest full member of the committee.
He has subsequently been elected to full memberships of the
17th and
18th Central Committees.
In August 2011 Zhang left Comac and was appointed acting governor of
Hebei Province, replacing
Chen Quanguo, who had been promoted to Party Secretary of
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), often shortened to Tibet in English or Xizang in Pinyin, Hanyu Pinyin, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China. It was established in 1965 to replace the ...
. In January 2012 he was officially elected by the Hebei Provincial Congress as governor, and reelected in January 2013.
Zhang was one of the earliest examples of rocket scientists taking on major political posts in China, a trend that intensified following
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping, pronounced (born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has been the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (China), chairman of the Central Military Commission ...
's ascension to the
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party
The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party ( zh, s=中国共产党中央委员会总书记, p=Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Zǒngshūjì) is the leader of the Chinese Communist Part ...
in 2012, with many "space alumni" joining government ranks thereafter. Zhang was transferred to
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 ...
to serve as party secretary in April 2017, becoming the fourth official born after 1960 to assume a provincial party secretary post.
On 18 October 2021, he was transferred to
central China's
Hunan
Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...
province and appointed Party Secretary, the top political position in the province.
On March 10, 2023, during the
14th National People's Congress, he was appointed
Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
Awards
*Top ten young scientists in the space industry (1991)
*Top ten outstanding young people in China (1999)
*
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
business figure of the year (2003)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Qingwei
1961 births
Living people
Businesspeople from Jilin
CCP committee secretaries of Heilongjiang
Council of Chairpersons of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress
Chinese aerospace engineers
Chinese aircraft designers
Chinese Communist Party politicians from Jilin
Comac
Delegates to the 13th National People's Congress
Delegates to the 14th National People's Congress
Engineers from Jilin
Governors of Hebei
Members of the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Members of the 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Members of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Northwestern Polytechnical University alumni
People from Jilin City
People's Republic of China politicians from Jilin
Rocket scientists