Ma Xiuhong was born in September 1948 in Tang County, Hebei Province. She joined the Chinese Communist Party in October 1975 and began her career in November 1968. She graduated from the Technical Engineering College with a degree in Microwave Communication.[1] Early in her career, she was assigned to work in rural Shanxi from 1968 to 1970. She then studied at Technical Engineering College from 1970 to 1974, after which she served as a technician and engineer in a unit of the People's Liberation Army until 1981.[2]
Ma began her government career in the Import and Export Bureau and Foreign Investment Management Bureau of the State Import and Export Commission. She later held multiple positions in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, including deputy director, Director, Deputy Director-General, Director-General, and Assistant Minister.[3] She became Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Commerce and a member of its Party Leadership Group in 2003. From 2008 to 2013, she served as Vice Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and as President of the China Foreign Trade Center. From November 2017 to February 2025, she served as President of the China International Investment Promotion Agency.[4]
