Gu Shengzu

Gu Shengzu began his professional career in 1975 as a community-run school teacher in Wangjiahe Town, Huangpi County, Hubei. He later worked as a laborer and publicity officer in Wuhan before entering the Department of Economics at Wuhan University in 1978. After graduating in 1982, he remained at Wuhan University as a lecturer and later associate professor. During this period, he pursued advanced studies abroad, completing graduate-level coursework at the University of Michigan between 1986 and 1988, and serving as a visiting scholar at both the University of Michigan and the East–West Center.^[3]

From 1988 onward, Gu assumed leadership roles at Wuhan University, including director of the Population Research Institute and later director of the Institute of Socioeconomic and Management Studies. He earned a doctorate in economics through an in-service postgraduate program at Wuhan University between 1988 and 1991. His academic career also included appointments as a visiting professor at Nihon University in Japan and the University of Michigan, as well as a visiting professorship at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany. In 1996–1997, he was a visiting research fellow at Harvard University.^[4]

Gu entered public administration in the late 1990s, serving as Vice Mayor of Wuhan from 1998 to 2002. He subsequently held senior positions at the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, first as an honorary vice chairman and later as a full-time vice chairman. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Vice Governor of Hubei Province.^[5]

Within the China Democratic National Construction Association, Gu served for a decade as full-time Vice Chairman (2007–2017) and was later promoted to Executive Vice Chairman.^[6] In 2018, he was elected Vice Chairman of the 13th CPPCC, a post he held until 2023. Throughout his political career, Gu has been involved in policy consultation on economic reform, population development, private-sector growth, and regional development strategies.^[7]