Li Chenggang
Li Chenggang | |
|---|---|
李成钢 | |
Chenggang in 2024 | |
| China International Trade Representative | |
| Assumed office 16 April 2025 | |
| Premier | Li Qiang |
| Commerce Minister | Wang Wentao |
| Preceded by | Wang Shouwen |
| Permanent Representative and Ambassador of China to the World Trade Organization and Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva | |
| In office 4 February 2021 – 20 October 2025 | |
| Premier | Li Keqiang Li Qiang |
| Preceded by | Zhang Xiangchen |
| Succeeded by | Li Yongjie |
| Assistant Minister of Commerce of China | |
| In office December 2016 – January 2021 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 1967 (age 58) Taihu County, Anhui, China |
| Party | Chinese Communist Party |
| Alma mater | Peking University (LLB) University of Hamburg (LLM) |
Li Chenggang (Chinese: 李成钢; born February 1967) is a Chinese politician and diplomat, currently serving as the China International Trade Representative with Full Ministerial Rank at the Ministry of Commerce of China since April 2025. He served as Permanent Representative and Ambassador of China to the World Trade Organization and Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva from February 2021 to October 2025.
Early life and education
Li was born in February 1967 in Taihu County, Anhui, China. He was admitted to the Peking University Law School in 1985 and joined the Chinese Communist Party in December 1988. In July 1989, he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree. In 1995, he went to Hong Kong as a visiting scholar at the University of Hong Kong to study the legal conflicts between the mainland and Hong Kong. From 1998 to 1999, he received a full scholarship from the European Master in Law and Economics (EMLE) program to study at the University of Hamburg in Germany and received a Master of Laws degree.[1]
Career
Li began his career in 1989 at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, focusing on trade law and anti-dumping investigations. He later joined the Ministry of Commerce, where he held various roles in fair trade and legal affairs.[2]
From 2004 to 2010, he served as deputy director of the Fair Trade Bureau for Imports and Exports and then as Deputy Director-General of the Treaty and Law Department. Between 2010 and 2017, he was Director-General of the Treaty and Law Department, with a one-year secondment as Vice Mayor of Qingdao from 2013 to 2014. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Assistant Minister of Commerce.[2]
On 4 February 2021 Li began serving as China's Permanent Representative and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the World Trade Organization,[3][4] as well as Deputy Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva.[2] On 16 April 2025, as part of China's response to tariffs imposed on it by the second presidency of Donald Trump, the State Council of China appointed Li as the China International Trade Representative (Full Ministerial Rank) and as Vice Minister Commerce of China, replacing Wang Shouwen.[5][6][7] On 20 October 2025, it was announced that Li was removed from his WTO post.[8] The news came after United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly called Chenggang "disrespectful," "unhinged" and a "rogue negotiator" at a press conference, characterizations which were disputed by the Chinese Commerce Ministry.[9][10]
Works
- Li Chenggang (2011). WTO Rules of the Game: China's Participation in the WTO Dispute Settlement Years of Legal Practice (1st ed.). Commercial Press. ISBN 978-7100086912.
- Li Chenggang Zhang Yuqing (2001). WTO and Safeguards Disputes (1st ed.). Shanghai: People's Publishing House. ISBN 7208038910.
References
- ^ Yin Yanhong (16 April 2025). 商务部条法司司长李成钢任青岛市副市长 [Li Chenggang, Director of the Department of Treaty and Law of the Ministry of Commerce, was appointed as Deputy Mayor of Qingdao]. Economic Daily (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
- ^ a b c Guan, Pengwei (16 April 2025). "正部级新职明确，李成钢任商务部国际贸易谈判代表兼副部长" [Li Chenggang appointed as International Trade Negotiation Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce]. hangzhou.com.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ "WTO | Public forum 2021 Speakers Bio". www.wto.org. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
- ^ "国家主席习近平任免驻外大使 – 中华人民共和国外交部". www.mfa.gov.cn. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
- ^ "China appoints new top international trade negotiator amid tariff tensions with the US". Channel NewsAsia. 16 April 2025. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Wang, Ethan; Chen, Laurie; Baptista, Eduardo (16 April 2025). "China unexpectedly anoints new trade negotiator amid US tariff war". Reuters. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Bao, Anniek (15 April 2025). "China replaces top international trade negotiator as talks with Washington stall". CNBC. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ "China removes top trade negotiator from former WTO post". Reuters.
- ^ "Naming Names: A Rare Public Rebuke in U.S.-China Trade Talks". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ "Bessent Calls China Trade Negotiator 'Unhinged' Wolf Warrior". Bloomberg News. 15 October 2025.