Ma Xingrui. Ma Xingrui (; born October 1959) is a Chinese politician and aerospace engineer who is the Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang and a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party.

Ma is recognized as one of China's top scientists. Ma served as Vice President of Harbin Institute of Technology, General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Director of the China National Space Administration, and chief commander of Chang'e 3, China's first lunar exploration mission. He later served as the Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Head of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Guangdong, Communist Party Secretary of Shenzhen, Deputy Party Secretary of Guangdong, and Governor of Guangdong. He became the Communist Party secretary of Xinjiang in December 2021 and a member of the Politburo in October 2022.

Education and academic career
Ma Xingrui was born on 6 October 1959 in Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang province, to a family of mine workers in China's industrial northeast. His branch of the family migrated from Yuncheng County, Shandong to Shuangyashan in the 1930s during his grandfather's generation. He received a bachelor's degree at Fuxin Mining College (now Liaoning University of Technology) in 1982, and went on to graduate school for general mechanics at Tianjin University. He earned his doctorate in mechanics at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in 1985.

Ma joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in January 1988. He stayed at HIT to pursue post-doctoral work, first working as an instructor and associate professor before being named a professor in 1991. In April 1992 he became dean of the school of mechanics at the institute, later becoming the vice dean of the Aerospace College in 1985. In April 1996 he was named vice president of the institute.

Aerospace industry
In May 1996, Ma was appointed vice dean of China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), and became the leader and chief engineer of the Shijian 5 satellite project. In 1999, he was named deputy general manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). In December 2003 he was additionally appointed Chairman of the Sino Satellite Communications and worked on various lunar missions. In September 2007, Ma was promoted to General Manager of CASC.

In 2013, Ma was appointed Director of the China National Space Administration, Director of the China Atomic Energy Authority, Director of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, and Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology. He was the chief commander of the successful Chang'e 3 mission, China's first lunar surface exploration.

Political career

Guangdong 
In 2012, Ma was elected as a full member of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In November 2013, Ma left his posts in the world of science and was transferred to Guangdong to serve as deputy party secretary of the province and concurrently the Secretary of the provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission. In March 2015, he was named Communist Party Secretary of Shenzhen, replacing Wang Rong. Ma's appointment in Shenzhen placed him in his first executive party leadership role. His appointment also elevated the status of the office, given that his predecessor Wang is only an alternate member of the Central Committee, while Ma is a full member. In late 2015, Ma gave Shenzhen's three largest bus operators – Shenzhen Bus Group, Shenzhen Eastern Bus Company and Shenzhen Western Bus Company – a three-year deadline to establish all-electric fleets. In October 2016, he announced Shenzhen would surrender the Lok Ma Chau Loop to Hong Kong with the intention to co-develop it with the city.

In December 2016, Ma was appointed as the acting Governor of Guangdong. In a break with tradition, Ma became the first governor in over 30 years to have not been native to the province. Ma was elected as the Governor of Guangdong on 23 January 2017. In March 2017, while meeting the Guangdong provincial delegation at the National People's Congress, Ma said he hoped the Greater Bay Area would "compete with bay areas in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo Bay". He called on cooperation on a wide range of social and economic policies and said the Guangdong provincial government asked the China Centre for International Economic Exchanges to study the initiative.

In October 2017, Ma was elected as a full member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In November 2017, Ma and Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam signed a deal to house mainland Chinese authorities at the West Kowloon terminus of the Guangzhou–Shenzhen–Hong Kong Express Rail Link. During his tenure as governor, in August 2018, 14 companies from Singapore signed agreements with Guangdong companies to collaborate in research and development, technology, smart cities development, transport and logistics, education, biomedical sciences and professional services. In September 2021, Ma became the co-head of the Hengqin Management Committee along with Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng.

Xinjiang 
In December 2021, Ma was appointed as the Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. During his first tour of Ürümqi, he called on to modernize Xinjiang's supply chains and improve the international business environment. In January 2022, during the local two sessions meeting in Xinjiang, Ma called for upholding ethnic unity and guiding "religions to adapt to China’s socialist society". Since his accession to the post, Xinjiang has seen relative normalization in some aspects, such as turnstiles between residential areas being removed and two-day breaks in weekends for public officials being restored. In October 2022, Ma was elected as a member of the CCP Politburo.

In March 2023, Ma visited Astana, Kazakhstan and met with president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and prime minister Älihan Smaiylov, discussing boosting trade; his predecessor Chen Quanguo did not undertake any trips overseas during his tenure in Xinjiang. In September 2023, he met with Corinne Vargha, the head of the International Labour Organization's international labour standards department, where he said the accusations of forced labor in Xinjiang were "reckless rumors". In March 2024, Ma stated that sinicization of Islam in Xinjiang is "inevitable." In June 2024, he met with Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan. In July 2024, after Xinjiang completed a military-police joint exercise, Ma called for eliminating "all terrorist threats at the initial stage, and push forward with normalizing counterterrorism work". In August 2024, Ma met with Temasek executives from Singapore in Ürümqi to boost foreign investment in Xinjiang, particularly in the energy sector. That same month Ma, along with other senior officials, met with Cambodian king Norodom Sihamoni in Urumqi.

In an interview by Voice of America, Abduweli Ayup, a Norway-based Uyghur activist, accused Ma for the expansion of forced labor. According to Ayup, as of November 2024, 240 Uyghurs were sent back to Xinjiang by Ma's administration who sought refuge in Shanghai and Beijing.

Personal life 
Ma is married to Rong Li, who was his classmate from graduate school. The couple have a daughter, who holds a doctoral degree.

References 

1959 births
Living people
Governors of Guangdong
Chinese aerospace engineers
Chinese Lunar Exploration Program
People's Republic of China politicians from Heilongjiang
Political office-holders in Guangdong
Chinese Communist Party politicians from Heilongjiang
Tianjin University alumni
Harbin Institute of Technology alumni
Academic staff of Harbin Institute of Technology
Politicians from Shuangyashan
Scientists from Heilongjiang
China National Space Administration people
Members of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Engineers from Heilongjiang
Members of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Members of the 20th Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party
Delegates to the 12th National People's Congress
Members of the 11th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Political office-holders in Xinjiang
Secretary of the CCP Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee