Wan Gang | |
|---|---|
| 万钢 | |
 Wan in 2011 | |
| Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference | |
| In office 13 March 2008 – 10 March 2023 | |
| Chairman | Jia Qinglin Yu Zhengsheng Wang Yang |
| Minister of Science and Technology | |
| In office 27 April 2007 – 19 March 2018 | |
| Premier | Wen Jiabao Li Keqiang |
| Preceded by | Xu Guanhua |
| Succeeded by | Wang Zhigang |
| Chairman of theChina Zhi Gong Party | |
| In office 21 December 2007 – 14 December 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Luo Haocai |
| Succeeded by | Jiang Zuojun |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 1952 (age 73) Shanghai, China |
| Political party | China Zhi Gong Party |
| Alma mater | Northeast Forestry University Tongji University Clausthal University of Technology |
Wan Gang (Chinese:万钢;pinyin:Wàn Gāng, born August 1952) is a Chinese expert onautomobiles and retired politician, who served as theminister of science and technology from 2007 to 2018. The chairman of theChina Zhi Gong Party from 2007 to 2022,[1] Wan was one of the few non-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ministers in China'sState Council.
A graduate of theNortheast Forestry University, Wan was a visiting scholar to theClausthal University of Technology in Germany from 1985 to 1991. He started working forAudi in 1991, where he contributed to research and development efforts. After proposing for China to focus on new car technologies using clean fuel in 2000, he was invited by the Chinese government to return to China to head the electric automobile projects in the863 Program. He became the president ofTongji University in 2002, serving there until 2007.
In 2007, he was appointed the minister of science and technology. He also became the chairman of the China Zhi Gong Party later that year, and was appointed a vice chairman of theChinese People's Political Consultative Conference in 2008. As minister, Wan promoted the development ofelectric vehicles, and has been nicknamed the "father of China’s electric car industry". He retired as minister in 2018, and later stepped down as CPPCC vice chairman in 2023.
Wan was born in Shanghai in August 1952. During theDown to the Countryside Movement, Wan was sent to Sandao Commune in Yanji County,Jilin Province from 1969 to 1975. In October 1975, Wan attended theNortheast Forestry University as aworker-peasant-soldier student. After graduating in 1978, he stayed at the university to teach in the Physics Teaching and Research Section. In 1979, he did hispostgraduate study on experimentalmechanics in Structural Theories Research Institute ofTongji University and received hismaster degree in 1981.[2]
In the same year, he stayed on campus and taughtmathematics andmechanics. In 1985, he went toGermany as a visiting scholar anddoctoral candidate of Department ofMechanical Engineering inClausthal University of Technology and receivedPh.D. (Dr.-Ing.) with good honor five years later.[3]
After his graduation in 1991, Wan received job offers from all the big German automakers, but chose to work inAudi as it was the smallest and offered the best chance at promotion.[3]
In the year of 2000, Wan made a strategic proposal (Regarding Development of Automobile New Clean Energy as the Starting Line for Leap- Forward of China’s Automobile Industry) to theState Council of China to develop a new type of automobile propelled by new clean fuel, with a view to ushering Chineseauto industry onto a new stage. He theorized that China would never be able to catch up to foreign manufacturers in traditional vehicles, thus prioritizing new technologies would give the country a more equal-footing, while also curbing its dependency on oil.[3]
His proposal received the attention and support from theMinistry of Science and Technology and theState Economic and Trade Commission. By the end of 2000, he returned to China upon the invitation of the Ministry of Science and Technology and was appointed as chief scientist and group leader of the863 Program key electric automobile projects assigned by Ministry of Science and Technology. He also took the responsibility of major supervisor to handle the most demanding part in this project ---- the developing offuel cellsedan, which deals with the most complicated technologies as well as the heaviest working load. This project was nominated as one of the “Ten Greatest Scientific and Technological Progresses of Chinese Higher Schools in 2005”.[4]
In 2002, Wan worked as Assistant President of Tongji University; in 2003, Vice (Acting) President of Tongji; in July 2004, President of Tongji.[5] He was also the founding dean of New Energy Automobile Engineering Center at Tongji.
Wan was a member of the standing committee of the 10thChinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He has been chairman of theChina Zhi Gong Party from December 2007 to December 2022, a vice president in the Association for Science and Technology of Shanghai since 2006, and a vice chairman of the CPPCC from 2008 to 2023.[2]
Wan was appointed the Minister of Science and Technology on 27 April 2007.[6] He was the firstcabinet minister from anon-Communist party since the late 1970s when China launched itseconomic reform and opening-up drive.[7]
While as minister, Wan promoted the development ofelectric vehicles. He promoted building a fleet of electric buses before the2008 Beijing Olympics, putting a thousand battery electric vehicles in every Chinese city, and implementing subsidies for EV developers.[3] Due to his efforts at promoting EVs, he has been called the "father of China’s electric car industry".[8]
In February 2009, Wan and US energy secretarySteven Chu announced theUS-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) during a visit by Chu to China.[9]: 119, 122 Wan was an advocate for CERC throughout its existence.[9]: 119
Wan retired as the minister of science and technology in 2018.[2]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous: Luo Haocai | Chairman ofChina Zhi Gong Party 2007–2022 | Next: Jiang Zuojun |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of Science and Technology 2007–2018 | Succeeded by |
| Educational offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of Tongji University June 2003 – August 2007 | Succeeded by Pei Gang (裴钢) |
| Professional and academic associations | ||
| Preceded by | President of theChina Association for Science and Technology 2016–present | Incumbent |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
.jpg)
