Huang Qifan Mayor of Chongqing

I think Chongqing can be developed into a large city with international influence，” says Huang Qifan， who was appointed Mayor of Chongqing in January 2010. “I will set my feet deeply on this land like a tree and try to hand in a satisfactory working sheet to all the residents here with my best efforts.”

Huang arrived in Chongqing in 2001 after successfully leading the development of the Pudong District in Shanghai， which was an important milestone in establishing Shanghai as the economic center of China and boosting the economy of eastern China. He was initially appointed deputy mayor of Chongqing， which at that time was beginning to be developed as an important economic center for western China. Huang laid the groundwork for growing the city’s infrastructure by setting up eight state-owned companies to manage sectors such as real estate and water which are key to development. The World Bank later pointed to this model as an example for other developing countries to follow.

Under Huang’s leadership several state-owned companies in Chongqing got stock market listings， and Chongqing’s economy grew at lightning speed. In 2010 Chongqing achieved 19.3% GDP growth.

Huang was born in Zhuji， Zhejiang Province and when he was 16 years old he went to work in a Shanghai coking workshop， which sent him to the Shanghai Machinery College to study engineering. Huang continued to work at the coke plant after graduation and was eventually promoted to deputy chief of the workshop. After a year he left the workshop and became deputy director of the economic planning office of the Shanghai government. It was from this position that he began his role in the development of Shanghai’s Pudong District.