Zeng Qinghong (Chinese: 曾庆红; pinyin: Zēng Qìnghóng; Wade–Giles: Tseng1 Ch'ing4-hung2, born on July 30, 1939) is a Chinese politician who is now retired. He was a very important leader in China. From 2002 to 2007, he was part of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. This group is China's highest leadership council. He was also a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, which helps manage the party.

From 2003 to 2008, Zeng Qinghong served as the Vice President of China. In the 1990s, he was a close friend and helper to Jiang Zemin, who was the leader of the Chinese Communist Party at the time. Zeng Qinghong played a big part in making Jiang Zemin's power stronger. For many years, Zeng was in charge of how the party was organized and who got important jobs.

Early Life and Education
Rising Through the Ranks
Joining the Top Leadership
- Changing Relationships
- Retirement from Leadership
Awards and Recognition
See also

Early Life and Education

Zeng Qinghong was born in July 1939 in Ji'an, a city in Jiangxi province, China. His family had a Hakka background. His father, Zeng Shan, was a famous communist revolutionary who later became a government minister. His mother, Deng Liujin, was also a notable person who took part in the Long March, a very important event in Chinese history. Zeng was the oldest of five children.

He went to Beijing 101 Middle School and then studied automatic control systems at the Beijing Institute of Technology. He became an engineer, specializing in how to make systems work automatically. Zeng joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in April 1960. Because his father was a revolutionary, Zeng was sometimes seen as part of a group called the "Crown Prince Party", which included children of important older leaders.

Zeng started his career working as a technician in the military defense industry in Beijing. During the Cultural Revolution, a period of big changes in China, he was sent to do manual labor on army bases in Hunan and Guangdong provinces. When China began its reform era in 1979, Zeng joined the State Development and Reform Commission. After that, he held several management jobs in the state oil industry, including roles that involved working with foreign companies for the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Rising Through the Ranks

In 1984, Zeng Qinghong started working for the government in Shanghai. There, he became a key supporter of Jiang Zemin, who was the leader of the Communist Party in Shanghai at that time. When Jiang Zemin became the top leader of the Chinese Communist Party after a major political change in 1989, he brought Zeng Qinghong with him to Beijing as his advisor.

From 1989 to 1993, Zeng was a deputy leader in the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party. In this role, he helped Jiang Zemin, who was new to national politics, understand how the party, military, and government worked in Beijing. Zeng helped promote Jiang's ideas and expanded his network of connections. He became Jiang's most trusted helper.

Throughout the 1990s, Zeng gained more control over the party groups that decided who would get important political jobs. From 1999 to 2002, he was the head of the party's Organization Department. In this role, Zeng made Jiang Zemin's position stronger by promoting people who were part of Jiang's "Shanghai clique" to important jobs across the country. He also helped spread Jiang's main political idea, known as the "Three Represents", throughout the party.

Over time, Zeng became known as someone who could deal with Jiang's political opponents. For example, in 1992, he reportedly helped Jiang remove President Yang Shangkun and General Yang Baibing from their positions. Later, he used an anti-corruption effort to remove a Beijing party leader who was an opponent of Jiang. Because he was seen as strongly supporting Jiang's group, many people who opposed Jiang did not want Zeng to become a full member of the Politburo. However, Jiang made it clear that Zeng becoming a member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee was a condition for his own retirement.

Joining the Top Leadership

At the 16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2002, Zeng Qinghong became a member of the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. He also joined the Politburo and the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), which is the Party's main decision-making group. He also served as a member of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, which handles the party's daily tasks and policy planning.

During his time in the PSC, even though he was officially ranked fifth, Zeng was seen as a very powerful figure in the party. Many believed he had almost as much power as the top leader, Hu Jintao. At first, some thought Zeng might be a rival to Hu Jintao. However, Zeng showed that he was willing to work together with the older leaders after Jiang Zemin partly retired.

When Jiang Zemin's term was ending, some people thought Jiang might have preferred Zeng Qinghong to take over as the top leader instead of Hu Jintao. But Hu Jintao became the leader, partly because he had been chosen by an earlier important leader, Deng Xiaoping. Zeng became Vice President in March 2003. During the SARS outbreak, Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao took strong action, while Zeng and other leaders who were close to Jiang were less visible.

Changing Relationships

Even though Zeng was first seen as very loyal to Jiang Zemin, many observers later described him as very smart and politically skilled. They also said Zeng had different ideas about policies compared to Jiang's "Shanghai Clique." Zeng was a very important person in the highest levels of the party. He was said to be key in encouraging Jiang to fully retire in 2004, when Jiang gave up his last important title. This push for Jiang's retirement was seen as a sign that Zeng and Hu Jintao were working together.

In the years that followed, Zeng became a "kingmaker," meaning he helped decide who would get important jobs. He also became a key person for Hu Jintao to handle difficult situations. For example, after the death of Zhao Ziyang, a former party leader, Zeng helped communicate between Zhao's family and the current party leaders. Zeng also worked with Hu to manage how China would be affected by changes in other countries.

When Shanghai's party leader Chen Liangyu was removed from his job in September 2006, Zeng led the anti-corruption team investigating him. Zeng also played a big role in organizing the funeral for Huang Ju, another important leader who passed away in 2007.

Retirement from Leadership

At the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007, Zeng Qinghong left the Central Committee, its Politburo, and the Politburo Standing Committee. This was seen as his retirement due to age. His departure meant he no longer oversaw the party's organization or served on its secretariat. His role as Vice President ended in March 2008.

Before he retired, Zeng used his political influence to help Xi Jinping and Zhou Yongkang join the Politburo Standing Committee. Xi Jinping then took over Zeng's roles as Vice President and executive secretary of the Secretariat, becoming the next leader expected to succeed Hu Jintao. Zhou Yongkang, who was close to Zeng, became a very powerful leader in charge of legal and security affairs. Since his retirement, Zeng has only appeared in public for a few special events.

Awards and Recognition

Grand Officer of the Order of Mono (Togo, 2004)

Zeng Qinghong facts for kids

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