Ding Xuexiang

Ding Xuexiang was born in Nantong, Jiangsu province, on 13 September 1962. He graduated from the Northeast Heavy Machinery Institute in Qinghuangdao, later renamed Yanshan University, in 1982 with a degree in engineering. Ding Xuexiang got his first job at the Shanghai Research Institute of Materials (SRIM) from 1982 to 1999, and joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1984.[1] Ding Xuexiang received a master's degree in public administration from Fudan University's School of Management in 1993.[2] At the Shanghai Research Institute of Materials, Ding advanced rapidly through various research, administrative, and party positions.

Ding's rise to the Politburo was achieved primarily by climbing the ranks of the party.[2] Ding moved into politics after obtaining his first cadre position, as the deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Science & Technology Commission, in 1999.[3] Throughout his tenure at the SRIM, he attained leadership roles in propaganda, organization, general office, politics, and legal affairs, gaining valuable experience in all said fields. He moved up the ranks of the party apparatus in Shanghai, finishing off his time in the city as Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee in 2013.[4] He would first be elected to the Central Committee as an alternate member at the 18th Party Congress in 2012.