Zeng Qinghong (, born 30 July 1939) is a retired Chinese politician. He was a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's highest leadership council, and a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee between 2002 and 2007. He also served as the Vice President of China from 2003 to 2008. During the 1990s, Zeng was a close ally of then-Party general secretary Jiang Zemin, and was instrumental in consolidating Jiang's power. For years, Zeng was the primary force behind the party's organization and personnel.

Early life

Zeng was born to a family of Hakka background in Ji'an, Jiangxi province, in July 1939. He was the son of Zeng Shan, a communist revolutionary and later Minister of the Interior, and Deng Liujin (), a notable female participant of the Long March. Zeng was the eldest of five children. He graduated from Beijing 101 Middle School and the Automatic Control Department at the Beijing Institute of Technology. Zeng was an engineer, a specialist in automatic control systems. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in April 1960. Due to the revolutionary heritage of his father, Zeng was seen as a member of the so-called "Crown Prince Party", the descendants of veteran revolutionaries.

Zeng spent the early part of his career as a technician in the military defense industry in Beijing. He was sent down to do manual labor on People's Liberation Army bases in Hunan and Guangdong during the Cultural Revolution. With the opening of the reform era, Zeng joined the State Development and Reform Commission in 1979 and then held a series of management positions in the state petroleum sector, including a series of foreign liaison positions with the China National Offshore Oil Corporation.

Climbing the ranks

In 1984, Zeng began working for the Shanghai municipal government, where he became a key ally of then-Party Committee Secretary Jiang Zemin. When Jiang was elevated to General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in national leadership re-shuffle following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, he brought Zeng Qinghong along as his adviser.

Over the next decade, he acquired a reputation as Jiang's 'hatchet man' against rivals. In 1992 he supposedly helped Jiang remove President Yang Shangkun and elder PLA General Yang Baibing, who threatened Jiang's support within the military. Then, he used an anti-corruption campaign to orchestrate the downfall of Beijing party chief and Jiang's foe Chen Xitong. Because he was seen to represent highly partisan interests, many of Jiang's factional opponents were said to be highly resistant to Zeng joining the Politburo as a full member for years. Initially seen as a rival to general secretary Hu Jintao, Zeng was obliged to show a willingness to work towards consensus with the old guard following Jiang's semi-retirement.

On 6 June 2003, Zeng issued an order "not to play or sing 'The Internationale' in any provincial, city or county level party or party member meetings." The move was characterized as distancing China from orthodox communist doctrine.

Although Jiang stepped down from the PSC to make way for a younger "fourth generation" of leadership led by Hu Jintao, Jiang continued to wield significant influence on the new group of leaders, particularly through Zeng. Due in large measure to Zeng's efforts, six out of the nine new members of the Standing Committee, Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Huang Ju, Li Changchun, Luo Gan, and Zeng himself, were linked to Jiang's "Shanghai Clique" and considered his allies.

As Jiang Zemin reached the end of his term, observers speculated that Jiang may well have preferred Zeng Qinghong over Hu Jintao as his successor. But Hu prevailed in succeeding Jiang, ostensibly because Hu was 'handpicked' by former leader Deng Xiaoping. Zeng became vice-president in March 2003 at the National People's Congress held that year. During the SARS outbreak, Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao took very strong and assertive action while Zeng and other Jiang loyalists receded to the background. Zeng was also initially expected to succeed Hu as Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission as a condition of Jiang's resignation from the chairmanship in favor of Hu. However, when Jiang stepped down on 19 September 2004, Xu Caihou, and not Zeng, became vice-chairman.

Shifting loyalties

Although initially seen as a Jiang loyalist, observers characterized Zeng as much more sophisticated and shrewd and possessing more political savvy compared to his former boss Jiang. In addition, Zeng was said to differ with Jiang's "Shanghai Clique" on policy preferences. Zeng was an important figure within the highest ranks of party leadership. He was said to be a crucial player in pushing Jiang's move towards full retirement in 2004, when Jiang relinquished his final title, Chairman of the Central Military Commission. Observers saw the push for Jiang's retirement as indicating consensus between Zeng and Hu.

In the following years, Zeng emerged as a kingmaker-style figure, and a 'point-man' for Hu to manage crises situations. After the death of Zhao Ziyang, the former party General Secretary who lost power following the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, Zeng worked as the intermediary between the Zhao's family and the senior party leadership. Zeng also worked with Hu to manage the potential effects on China of the ouster of authoritarian regimes in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. His departure, which was seen as his retirement because of age, meant that he could no longer serve on the Communist Party's secretariat nor oversee the party's organization. His Vice-presidency ended in March 2008 at the 2008 National People's Congress. Before his retirement, however, Zeng used his political strength to secure the elevation of Xi Jinping and Zhou Yongkang into the Politburo Standing Committee. Xi, who succeeded Zeng in his posts of vice-president and executive secretary of the Secretariat, then became the heir apparent to succeed Hu Jintao as China's top leader. Zhou, who was his closest subordinate in his 'Oil Clique', became the most powerful Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission. Since then Zeng has made public appearances only on a few ceremonial occasions, such as the 30th anniversary of the Third plenum of the 11th Central Committee in 2008. In 2023, Zeng reportedly led a group of party veterans in reprimanding Xi at the annual Beidaihe meeting.

Son's wealth

In 2008, Zeng's son, Zeng Wei (), paid over A$32 million (~US$24 million) to buy a luxurious Australian property located in Sydney; at the time, it was said to be the third most expensive residential property transaction in Australia. He further caused controversy with his fight to demolish and rebuild it. In 2007, an exposé published by finance magazine Caijing alleged that Zeng Wei had, through a series of complex corporate vehicles, completed the purchase of power generation giant Shandong Luneng at 70 billion yuan (~$10 billion) below market value, and that Zeng Wei was, for all intents and purposes, the real owner of the company despite his name not appearing in corporate documents.

Awards and honors

  • 100px Grand Officer of the Order of Mono (Togo, 2004)

See also

  • Politics of the People's Republic of China
  • History of China (2002–2012)

References

  • Zeng Qinghong and his CCP organization – World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong
  • Zeng Qinghong biography @ China Vitae, online database of China VIPs
  • Zeng Qinghong – People's Daily biography
  • Zeng Qinghong: A Man to Watch – Jamestown Foundation
  • Zeng Qinghong: A Potential Challenger to China's Heir Apparent – Jamestown Foundation