Gong Zheng elected mayor of municipality

The Shanghai Municipal People's Congress elected Gong Zheng, a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, as mayor of Shanghai on Tuesday.

Gong had been appointed the city's acting mayor in March when former mayor Ying Yong was appointed Party secretary of Hubei province in February.

In a speech to the municipal congress, Gong said he felt honored to take over the "relay baton" as mayor amid the city's ambition to become a modern global municipality.

The mayor said he will see to the accomplishment of Shanghai's three new key tasks announced by President Xi Jinping in late 2018, which are related to the Yangtze River Delta integration, the Lingang Special Area as the new expansion of China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone, and the sci-tech innovation board, which is piloting the registration-based initial public offerings system.

While continuing COVID-19 prevention measures, Gong said he will ensure stability in areas such as employment, financial operations, foreign trade and foreign and domestic investment.

He also said he will make sure people's jobs, basic living needs, food and energy are secured, as well as the stable operations of market entities, industrial and supply chains and the normal functioning of grassroots governments.

"I will always put the people first… and push forward the modern governance of the city," he said.

Gong was born in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, in 1960, and joined the CPC in 1985.

With a bachelor's degree in customs management, Gong has over 25 years of work experience in the country's customs system.

He joined the General Administration of Customs in 1982 upon graduating from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and became deputy director of the administration in 2003.

Gong became vice-governor of Zhejiang province in 2008 and later Party chief of Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang.

He was transferred to Shandong province in 2015 as a deputy provincial Party chief.

In 2017, he was elected governor of Shandong.