Career finance official moves into pole position to become Shanghai’s next mayor
Zhu Zhongming, a former vice-minister for finance, has been appointed to a leading role in the city’s government
Shanghai has named career finance official Zhu Zhongming as the municipal government’s new party chief, a role that puts him in line to become the city’s next mayor.
His appointment as secretary of the Shanghai government’s Party Leadership Group was announced on Saturday in an official social media post that said he had chaired a meeting of the body.
Zhu replaces the current mayor, Gong Zheng, in the post. However, the city’s most senior position is that of the secretary of the Shanghai Communist Party committee, which is currently held by Chen Jining.
In China’s party-state system, municipal governments operate under the leadership of the party, which sets the broader political direction while the government handles day-to-day administration.