Zhong Shan (; born October 1955) is a Chinese politician and business executive, who served as the

Commerce Minister A Commerce minister (sometimes business minister, industry minister, trade minister or international trade minister) is a position in many governments that is responsible for regulating external trade and promoting economic growth (commercial poli ...

of the People's Republic of China from February 2017 to December 2020.

Career

Zhong Shan was born in

Shangyu Shangyu District () is a district of the prefecture-level city of Shaoxing in the northeast of Zhejiang province, China. At the 2010 census, its population in the built-up (''or metro'') area was 779,412, up from 722,523 in the 2000 census. Shang ...

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 ...

, and he joined to work in 1972. His first job was Chief of Section in Zhejiang Textile Import & Export Corporation. In 1998, he served as the Director of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Department of Zhejiang. He was served as the vice Governor of Zhejiang since 2003. In 2008, he was appointed as the Vice Minister of Commerce. In March 2013, he was named China's International Trade Representative (minister-level). In February 2017, Zhong was appointed as the Minister of Commerce by the

Standing Committee of the National People's Congress The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) is the permanent body of the National People's Congress (NPC), the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. It exercises the powers of the NPC when it is not in s ...

China–US trade war

In 2018, Zhong stated that China "does not wish to fight a trade war" with the United States but will protect its national interests against US

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

, emphasizing there are "no winners" in a trade war. After the administration of US President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

imposed

tariffs A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...

on Chinese goods in late 2018, he stated that China won't back down in the trade dispute. According to the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', Zhong was seen as a "

hardliner In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...

" by US officials. He was described as having a strong stance in the US-China trade war. In July 2019, Zhong told the ''

People's Daily The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...

'' that the US has "provoked economic and trade frictions against us and violated the principles of the

WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

." In 2020, he declared at a press conference in Beijing that China has strong appeal for foreign investors due to its abundant, high-quality labor and complete industrial support. This statement was made as countries globally were reassessing their reliance on China's industrial capabilities during

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 ...

disruptions and growing concerns about US-China decoupling. Zhong was with Vice Premier Liu He to witness the signing of the first trade deal with the US President Donald Trump in January 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhong, Shan 1955 births Living people Ministers of commerce of the People's Republic of China Political office-holders in Zhejiang People's Republic of China politicians from Zhejiang People from Shangyu Businesspeople from Shaoxing