Dr Chen Deming was born in Shanghai in March 1949. He graduated from Nanjing University. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and a Doctor’s Degree in Management.

From 2013 to 2018, Dr Chen was President of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and a member of the National Standing Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He served as Minister of Commerce between 2007 and 2013.

Prior to his Commerce Minister role, he worked as the Minister- level Vice Chairman and Deputy CPC Party Secretary of the National Development and Reform Committee after 4 years of working in Shaanxi Province as Member of the provincial CPC Standing Committee, Executive Vice Governor, Deputy Party Secretary and Governor successively. Prior to that, he took various leadership positions in Jiangsu province including Member of the provincial CPC Standing Committee, Party Secretary and Mayor of Suzhou. He was also the Chairman of China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park Development Company Ltd. as an additional post while working in Suzhou.