Chief of prestigious Chinese university ‘to be appointed country’s environment minister’
Man rumoured to be next in line for top job will have to tackle anger over pollution
The head of one of the mainland's most prestigious universities is tipped to take over the country's top environmental job with Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian, reaching retirement age.
Tsinghua University president Chen Jining was expected to replace Zhou, initially in an acting capacity, two sources close to the university and ministry said. An official announcement could come this week. If so, Chen, 51, would also take over as the ministry's party chief.
His appointment as minister would need to be approved by the National People's Congress at its annual session in March, sources said.
Chen's experience in environmental research and policy means he has a good grasp of China's pollution woes, but he has no experience working in a government agency, having spent his entire career at Tsinghua.
A Jilin native, Chen received his bachelor and master's degrees from the university and earned his doctorate from Britain's Imperial College London. All of the degrees were in environmental science.
He returned to Tsinghua in 1998 as deputy chief of its environmental science and engineering department. He worked his way up to be appointed university president in 2012 at age 48, becoming one of the youngest people to hold the post in Tsinghua's history.
Xinhua described him as a low-profile official with a practical approach.