Personnel Update | “Chinese Faces” Among International Organization Leaders
In recent years, China has actively participated in global governance, contributing Chinese wisdom and solutions, with an increasing number of “Chinese faces” in leadership positions within international organizations.
According to the official WeChat account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Protocol Department, on December 10, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Bin attended a farewell reception for Zhang Ming, the Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Zhang Ming, born in 1957, has completed his term in this role. Like Zhang, there are many other Chinese individuals who have served as leaders of international organizations, including Chen Fengying, Sha Zukang, and Long Yongtu, among others. A review by The Paper found that many of these individuals have studied abroad and have backgrounds in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Chinese Faces” in Asian International Organizations
The Boao Forum for Asia, headquartered in China, has had Long Yongtu serve as a director and secretary-general. Public information reveals that Long Yongtu, born in May 1943 in You County, Hunan, studied international economics at the London School of Economics and was the chief negotiator for China’s accession to the WTO, as well as the former Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of China.
The current Secretary-General of the Boao Forum, Zhang Jun, born in August 1960, obtained a law degree from Jilin University and a master’s degree in international law from the University of Hull in the UK. He will assume his role in April 2024. Zhang Jun has engaged in diplomatic work for a long time, serving as the Chinese Ambassador to the Netherlands and permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons from 2008 before returning to China where he held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the first multilateral financial institution initiated by China, has Jin Liqun as its president. Jin Liqun graduated with a master’s degree in English from Beijing Foreign Studies University and later pursued studies in economics at Boston University. He has over 40 years of experience in the financial sector and has served as the AIIB president since 2015.
“Chinese Faces” in the United Nations and International Financial Organizations
Let’s look at the “Chinese faces” within the United Nations. Since China resumed its legal seat in the UN in 1972, aside from Li Junhua, who was appointed in July 2022, nine Chinese diplomats have served as Deputy Secretaries-General at the UN. Notably, Sha Zukang, who served from 2007 to 2012, is well-known.
Sha Zukang, born in September 1947 in Yixing, Jiangsu, graduated from Nanjing University’s Foreign Language Department. After graduating in 1970, he was assigned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and later studied in the UK before returning to China. He has held various positions, including advisor and deputy director in the Department of International Affairs at the Ministry.
Xu Haoliang, who became the UN Deputy Secretary-General and UN Development Programme Deputy Administrator in 2023, also hails from China. Born in 1961, Xu graduated from Tongji University before obtaining master’s degrees from Stevens Institute of Technology and Columbia University. He has extensive international development experience, having worked in various capacities within UNDP since 1994.
Chinese individuals also frequently hold positions in international financial institutions. For example, Lin Yifu served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank from 2008 to 2012, while Zhu Min was the first Chinese managing director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Currently, Zhang Wencai has been appointed as the World Bank’s Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, overseeing institutional strategy, planning, budgeting, and technology services.
Additionally, Chen Guangzhe serves as the Vice President for Infrastructure at the World Bank and has over three decades of international experience in sustainable development, infrastructure finance, and management.
“Chinese Firsts” in International Organizations
Beyond international financial institutions, Chinese representation can also be found in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Shi Jiuyong served as the first Chinese president of the ICJ. Born in October 1926 in Ningbo, Zhejiang, he studied at Columbia University and later worked extensively in diplomacy and international law, contributing significantly to the negotiations of the Hong Kong issue in the 1980s.
Xue Hanqin, currently serving as the ICJ’s Vice President, was born in September 1955 in a military family in Shanghai. After studying at Beijing Foreign Studies University, she furthered her education at Columbia University, obtaining her master’s and doctoral degrees in law. Xue also has a long history of working in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Additionally, in May 2010, Xue Hanqin was elected Chair of the UN International Law Commission, becoming the first Asian woman in this role and subsequently became the first Chinese female judge at the ICJ in June of the same year. She was elected as the ICJ Vice President in February 2018 and serves as the first female president of the Institute of International Law.
Chen Fengying, the former Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), which was established in 1948 as a UN agency committed to global health and safety, was the first Chinese individual to lead the organization. She joined the WHO in 2003 and was elected as Director-General in November 2006, serving multiple terms and contributing to global health initiatives. Chen holds a medical degree from the University of Western Ontario in Canada and initiated her public health career at the Hong Kong Department of Health in 1978. She represents the first Chinese individual to hold the top position in an international organization since the establishment of the UN.
