Zhou Shuchun

Zhou was born in Wuhan, Hubei Province, in May 1958. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in February 1984 and began working in September 1976. Zhou graduated from the Graduate School of the Central Party School, majoring in international politics at the Institute of International Strategy Studies, and holds a doctorate in law.^[2]

After graduating from the Shanghai International Studies University in June 1986, Zhou joined the Xinhua News Agency, where he successively served as an editor at Liaowang Weekly and a reporter at the China Feature Service. From 1988 to 1993, he worked in the Central Political and Foreign Affairs News Department of Xinhua's External News Editing Department, where he rose from reporter to deputy director and then director. Between 1993 and 1998, he served as deputy director of the department, and in 1998 was appointed as both deputy director and head of Xinhua's London bureau.^[3]

In December 1999, Zhou became director of Xinhua's Reference News Editing Department and editor-in-chief of Reference News, concurrently serving as director of the Xinhua World Affairs Research Center beginning in 2001. From 2003 to 2007, he held the posts of deputy editor-in-chief of Xinhua's General Editorial Office, director of the Reference News Editing Department, and director of the World Affairs Research Center.^[4]

In September 2007, Zhou was promoted to vice president and executive deputy editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency, as well as a member of the agency's Party Leadership Group, where he served until February 2017. During this period, he also held roles such as vice president of the All-China Journalists Association, vice president of the Translators Association of China, and vice chair of the Central State Organs Youth Federation. In February 2017, Zhou became editor-in-chief of China Daily and later served concurrently as its president. Over the years, Zhou has gained significant experience in journalism, external communication, internal research, and newspaper management, and is recognized as a loyal and accomplished professional in the field.^[5]

Zhou received the Eighth Taofen Journalism Award in June 2007 for his outstanding contributions to journalism. Zhou was a delegate to the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), serving on its Foreign Affairs Committee. He is also the executive vice chairman of the fourth council of the China Human Rights Development Foundation.^[6]