Pronunciation: Zhong Shan (pronunciation: Johng Shahn)
Chinese: 钟山
Title: CCP Central Committee Member; Party Secretary, Ministry of Commerce Party Leadership Group; Minister of Commerce
Salutation: Minister Zhong
Zhong Shan is minister of Commerce and secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
Born in 1955 in Shangyu County, Zhejiang Province, Zhong received his doctorate in economics from Zhejiang University and is a senior economist of the People’s Republic of China. Early in his career, Zhong worked as the general manager and the party secretary of several clothing and textile import and export companies in Zhejiang Province. In 1998, Zhong was appointed director and party secretary of the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Zhejiang Province, and in January 2003, he became a vice governor of Zhejiang Province. Zhong’s time as a provincial government official in Zhejiang overlapped with Xi Jinping’s tenure as provincial party secretary from 2002 to 2007.
In November 2008, Zhong began his work at the central government level as vice minister of MOFCOM, and in July 2010, he became deputy China international trade representative. In 2013, Zhong was promoted to China international trade representative, a ministerial-level position, and the following year he was named deputy party secretary of MOFCOM. Zhong Shan was appointed minister of Commerce and MOFCOM party secretary in February 2017.