Wang Wentao

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.

Wang Wentao (simplified Chinese: 王文涛; traditional Chinese: 王文濤; pinyin: Wáng Wéntāo; born May 1964) is a Chinese politician who has been Minister of Commerce since December 2020. He formerly served as Communist Party Secretary of Jinan and Deputy Party Secretary of Shandong province.

Wang Wentao
王文涛
Wang in 2024
Minister of Commerce
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 December 2020
Premier	Li Keqiang (2020–2023) Li Qiang (since 2023)
Preceded by	Zhong Shan
Governor of Heilongjiang
In office March 2018 – December 2020
Preceded by	Lu Hao
Succeeded by	Hu Changsheng
Party Secretary of Jinan
In office March 2015 – March 2018
Preceded by	Wang Min
Succeeded by	Wang Zhonglin
Personal details
Born	May 1964 (age 60) Nantong, Jiangsu
Political party	Chinese Communist Party (1994-present)
Alma mater	Fudan University

Career

Wang was born in 1964 in Nantong, Jiangsu province. He attended Fudan University in Shanghai, graduating with a degree in philosophy. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in December 1994. After graduation he worked as an instructor at career institute of the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology; he also served as the head of the Communist Youth League organization at the institute, as well as the managing the sales of photocopying machines. He was later transferred to work as mayor of the town of Wuku in the Songjiang District, then promoted to party chief of Liugang. Then he served as deputy governor of Songjiang District in Shanghai and head of urban planning; he was also in charge of industrial development, the technology park, and export growth.

In January 2005, Wang was then transferred to Kunming to become deputy party chief, then mayor. Then he was transferred back to Shanghai to serve as deputy party chief and later governor of Huangpu District. In April 2011 he was named a provincial Party Standing Committee member of Jiangxi and party chief of the provincial capital Nanchang.^[1]

In March 2015, Wang was named Party Secretary of Jinan and joined the Shandong Shengwei Changwei; he replaced Wang Min, who was dismissed for corruption. In April 2017, Wang was named deputy party chief of Shandong.^[2] On 26 March 2018, he was appointed acting Governor of Heilongjiang province, replacing Lu Hao. He was confirmed as Governor on 15 May.^[3]

Minister of Commerce

Wang was appointed Minister of Commerce in December 2020. In October 2022, after the 20th CCP National Congress, Wang was appointed as a full member of the CCP Central Committee. Wang was previously an alternate of the 18th and the 19th Central Committees of the CCP.

In January 2024, Wang promoted the commerce ministry's commitment to the "Made in China" strategy while acknowledging the challenges of attracting foreign inventors. He also stated that the ministry would not shy away from "unreasonable sanctions and suppression".^[4]

In April 2024, during a roundtable discussion in Paris along with representatives from more than ten Chinese companies including BYD, Wang stated that the rise of Chinese vehicles was not because of Chinese government subsidies but "constant innovation" from carmakers. He also said that the allegations of "overcapacity" were "groundless" and "without merit".^[5] The roundtable discussion centered around the anti-subsidy probe led by the European Union.^[5][6]