The number of mayors from the post-1980s generation in prefecture-level cities in China is expected to increase to five.

A new mayor from the post-1980s generation is expected to join the ranks of city leaders in China. According to the WeChat account of the Zhuhai People’s Congress, on the afternoon of December 8, the 10th Zhuhai Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee held its 31st meeting. The meeting voted to appoint Wu Zetong as the Vice Mayor of Zhuhai and to serve as the Acting Mayor of Zhuhai.

Wu Zetong, male, Han ethnicity, was born in January 1980. He holds a master’s degree in management and an MBA, and is a member of the Communist Party of China. Wu Zetong has spent much of his early career at the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, where he held positions such as Director of the Economic and Trade Division and Director of the Comprehensive Division. In October 2016, he was transferred to serve as the Deputy Mayor of Meizhou City, and he also briefly held the position of Secretary of the Meixian District Committee. In May 2021, Wu Zetong was appointed as a member of the Standing Committee of the Yunfu Municipal Committee and served as the Executive Deputy Mayor.

Currently, there are at least four post-1980s mayors of prefecture-level cities in China: Wang Xiwei, Mayor of Ezhou City in Hubei Province; Chen Kai, Mayor of Karamay City in Xinjiang; Liu Kai, Mayor of Jiayuguan City in Gansu Province; and Li Ke, Mayor of Hebi City in Henan Province.

Wang Xiwei, male, Han ethnicity, was born in January 1981. He is a doctoral candidate and holds a doctorate in management, and is a member of the Communist Party of China. After graduating with a master’s degree from Fudan University in July 2006, Wang Xiwei worked at China Three Gorges Financial Co., Ltd. and became the Deputy Manager of the Research and Development Department and a member of the Securities Investment Decision-Making Committee in February 2011. In August of the same year, he transitioned from a central enterprise to local government, serving as the Secretary of the Youth League Committee of Yichang City. Two months later, he became the District Chief of the Xiling District in Yichang. In December 2014, he returned to a state-owned enterprise as the Chairman and Party Secretary of Yichang Urban Construction Investment Holding Group. In December 2016, he was appointed Secretary of the Yiling District Committee of Yichang. In January 2021, he was promoted to Deputy Mayor of Huanggang City and later became a member of the Standing Committee of the Huanggang Municipal Committee and Deputy Mayor of the Huanggang Municipal Government. In 2022, he served as the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Hubei Port Group Co., Ltd. In February 2023, he became the Deputy Secretary of the Ezhou Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor, later confirmed in the position.

Chen Kai, male, Han ethnicity, was born in September 1981. He is a member of the Communist Party of China and a doctoral graduate from Tsinghua University. After completing his doctorate, he remained at the university for work. Chen Kai then moved to Xinjiang, where he held various positions including Assistant to the County Head of Shufu County, Secretary of the Party Committee of Langan Township, Secretary of the Party Committee of Langan Town in Shufu County, Secretary of the Party Committee of Shuimogou District in Urumqi, and a member of the Aletai Prefectural Committee and Secretary of the Party Committee of Habahe County. In February 2023, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Karamay Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor, later confirmed in the position.

Liu Kai, male, Han ethnicity, hails from Puyang, Henan. He joined the Communist Party of China in June 2002 and began working in July 2010. He graduated from Peking University with a degree in philosophy and holds a doctorate in philosophy. Liu Kai has served as the Secretary of the Youth League Committee in Chaoyang District, Beijing, Deputy Secretary of the Lingtai County Committee and County Head in Gansu Province, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Pingliang Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Lingtai County Committee. Since July 2021, he has been the Deputy Secretary of the Jiayuguan Municipal Committee and has held various positions including Deputy Mayor and Secretary of the United Front Work Department. In November 2021, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Jiayuguan Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor, later confirmed in the position.

Li Ke, born in November 1980, holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in science, and is a member of the Communist Party of China. He has served as the Secretary of the Youth League Committee of Anyang City in Henan Province, Deputy Secretary and District Head of Long’an District in Anyang, Secretary of the Long’an District Committee, and a member of the Standing Committee of the Anyang Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Long’an District Committee. In April 2023, Li Ke was transferred to serve as a member of the Standing Committee of the Hebi Municipal Committee and Executive Deputy Mayor. In January 2024, he was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Hebi Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor, later confirmed in the position.

Once Wu Zetong is confirmed as the Mayor of Zhuhai, the number of post-1980s mayors of prefecture-level cities in China will increase to five.