Kang was born in Jiaocheng, Shanxi, in November 1915. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in June 1936 while working at the Taiyuan Woolen Mill. In the late 1930s, he was active in the workers' movement in Taiyuan, serving as head of the organization department of the Taiyuan Municipal Committee, chairman of the Shanxi Federation of Trade Unions, and party secretary of the Workers' Guard Brigade.[3]
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Kang held positions including director of the political department of the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University (Branch Seven) and secretary of the Taiyuan Municipal Committee. He also worked in the central party school and served as head of urban work departments in Jinsui and Jinzhong.[4]
After 1949, he became a senior trade union leader. He served as chairman of the Shanxi Federation of Trade Unions, secretary of the North China Bureau's labor committee, director of the North China Labor Bureau, chairman of the First Machinery Workers' Union, and later as a member of the Secretariat and vice chairman of the ACFTU. He also held international posts as a member and secretary of the WFTU Secretariat in Prague.[5]
Following the Cultural Revolution, Kang was appointed director of the State Bureau of Labor and concurrently served as first deputy head of the State Council's leadership group on educated youth. He later became deputy director of the State Planning Commission, and subsequently advisor to the Ministry of Labor and Personnel. He was also president of the China Labor Society and the China Labor Movement Research Association.[6]
Kang was a delegate to the CCP's 7th and 12th National Congresses, a member of the 1st Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a standing committee member of the 6th and 7th CPPCC, and a deputy to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th National People's Congresses.[7] He retired in 1996 and died in Beijing on December 17, 2013, at the age of 98.[8][9]
