Zhu, an economic official who served as vice finance minister, is set to succeed current Mayor Gong Zheng, 66

Generation born in the 1970s rising to the fore ahead of next year's 21st Party Congress

Zhu Zhongming has been tapped as the next mayor of Shanghai. [State Council Information Office]
Zhu Zhongming has been tapped as the next mayor of Shanghai. [State Council Information Office]

Zhu Zhongming, the Communist Party deputy secretary of Shanghai born in 1972, has been designated as the next mayor of China's largest economic city, sources said. The appointment is the latest sign that a generational shift is accelerating across major provincial governments, with officials born in the 1970s — known in China as the "post-70s" generation — being moved into prominent positions ahead of the Chinese Communist Party's 21st National Congress next year.

According to Hong Kong's Ming Pao and other outlets, a recent meeting of the CCP Central Politburo decided on several senior personnel appointments, including Zhu's promotion to Shanghai mayor.

Zhu is set to succeed current Mayor Gong Zheng, who was born in March 1960 and is 66 this year.

Shanghai authorities announced Saturday that Zhu had presided over a party committee meeting of the city government in his capacity as party committee secretary — a role typically held by the sitting mayor — a step observers interpreted as a procedural formality ahead of his formal inauguration.

Born in April 1972 in Haining, Zhejiang Province, Zhu built his career in economics and fiscal affairs. He served as deputy governor of Hunan Province and vice minister of finance before being appointed Shanghai's party deputy secretary in 2024.

Shanghai, China's economic and financial hub, is widely regarded as a critical stepping stone to the central political stage. President Xi Jinping, former President Jiang Zemin and former Prime Minister Zhu Rongji all held key party posts in Shanghai before rising to national leadership.

With the 21st Party Congress approaching next year, officials born in the 1970s have been making notable advances across China's provincial governments.

Qin Weiguo, born in 1970, was recently appointed party secretary of Hefei, the capital of Anhui Province, while Li Yun, born in 1973, became acting mayor of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province — one of China's leading technology and innovation cities.

As Chinese leadership pushes to accelerate generational turnover in major economic cities and provincial governments ahead of the Party Congress, attention is turning to whether officials from the 1970s generation will expand their influence on the central political stage as well.


sjy@heraldcorp.com