Chen Deming
Chen Deming was appointed minister of Commerce in December 2007; he is also an alternate member of the 17th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee.
Born in March 1949 in Shanghai, Chen joined the CCP in 1974. He holds a PhD in management.
Chen began his career in 1969 in Jiangxi, working for five years for a production team in a remote mountain area before studying at the Jiangxi Communist Labor University (today Jiangxi Agricultural University). He then worked for three years for the Jiangxi Agricultural Machinery Bureau, before moving to Jiangsu to work for the Jiangsu Food Products Corp. From there, his career accelerated. Chen joined the Jiangsu Bureau of Commerce in 1984 as assistant director of the General Office and became the bureau's deputy director the following year. Through the late 1980s and 1990s, he held a variety of leadership positions in Jiangsu province and in the city of Suzhou, including secretary general of the General Office of the Jiangsu provincial government, mayor of Suzhou, and party secretary and head of the successful Suzhou Industrial Park.
In 2002, Chen became vice governor of Shaanxi province, a less-developed inland province with abundant coal resources. He was also appointed assistant party secretary of Shaanxi, a position he held until May 2006. In October 2004, Chen assumed the role of acting governor of Shaanxi, officially becoming governor in February 2005.
In May 2006, he was named vice chair of the National Development and Reform Commission, assuming responsibility for several key portfolios such as energy, planning, and economic reform.
Chen speaks English fairly well and is known for having both an international perspective and an enthusiasm for engaging with foreign investors directly, especially during his tenures in Jiangsu and Shaanxi.