Zhang Gaoli | |||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 张高丽 | ||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 張高麗 | ||||||||||||||
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Transcriptions | |
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Standard Mandarin | |
Hanyu Pinyin | Zhāng Gāolì |
IPA | [ʈʂáŋ káu.lî] |
Southern Min | |
Hokkien POJ | Tiuⁿ Ko-lē |
Tâi-lô | Tiunn Ko-lē |
Zhang Gaoli (born November 1946) is the current first-ranked Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, China's highest ruling council. Prior to his ascendancy to the pinnacle of political power in China, Zhang served as the Communist Party Secretary of Tianjin between 2007 and 2012, and the Party Secretary in the economic powerhouse of Shandong province between 2002 and 2007.
As Premier Li Keqiang's principal lieutenant, Zhang's portfolio spans the fields of finance, economic development, natural resources, the environment, and housing. He is the chair of ad-hoc steering committees overseeing the Three Gorges Dam, the South–North Water Transfer Project, One Belt One Road, and the Commission on Food Safety of the State Council.
Zhang was born in a village in Jinjiang County, Fujian, to an ordinary family of farmers. He was the youngest of five children. His family was poor. His father died when he was three years old. He and his four siblings were raised almost single-handedly by his mother. As a child, Zhang helped his family with farm work and also caught fish in a neighboring river.
Zhang attended Jinjiang Qiaosheng High School (晋江侨声中学). In 1965, Zhang entered Xiamen University to study economics. After graduating in August 1970, Zhang was sent to an oil company logistics team in Maoming to work as a labourer, stocking materials in a warehouse and moving concrete blocks. He joined the Communist Party of China in November 1973. He spent nearly 14 years in the state-owned company, eventually becoming very involved in the company's Communist Party branch. By 1984, he was made a manager in the company.