Ji Pengfei (simplified Chinese: 姬鹏飞; traditional Chinese: 姬鵬飛; pinyin: Jī Péngfēi; February 2, 1910 – February 10, 2000) was a Chinese politician.

Ji Pengfei
姬鹏飞
Ji in 1940
Director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
In office
1983–1990
PremierZhao Ziyang
Li Peng
Preceded byLiao Chengzhi
Succeeded byLu Ping
Head of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party
In office
February 1980 – May 1982
Preceded byZhou Rongxin
Succeeded byJin Ming
Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
In office
13 September 1982 – 4 May 1982
PremierZhao Ziyang
4th Secretary-General of the State Council
In office
1979–1981
PremierHua Guofeng
Zhao Ziyang
Preceded byJin Ming
Succeeded byDu Xinyuan
3rd Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
6 January 1972 – 18 November 1973
PremierZhou Enlai
Preceded byChen Yi
Succeeded byQiao Guanhua
Chinese Ambassador to East Germany
In office
September 1950 – January 1955
Preceded byLiao Chengzhi
Succeeded byLu Ping
Personal details
Born(1910-02-02)February 2, 1910
Linyi County, Shanxi, Qing Empire
DiedFebruary 10, 2000(2000-02-10) (aged 90)
Beijing, People's Republic of China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
SpouseXu Hanbing (1919-2015)
ChildrenJi Shengde

Biography

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Ji Pengfei was born in Linyi, Yuncheng, Shanxi in 1910. He joined the Chinese Red Army in 1931, and the Chinese Communist Party in 1933.

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Ji Pengfei worked with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and led diplomatic missions to East Germany before being appointed as China's first ambassador to the GDR in 1953, being the youngest Chinese ambassador at 43. He was recalled to serve as vice-minister of Foreign Affairs in 1955.

When the Cultural Revolution broke out, he was initially targeted as member of the counter-revolutionary clique ruling the Foreign Ministry, along with Chen Yi and Qiao Guanhua. Nevertheless, he was relatively untouched as he remained at his post. After Chen Yi died in 1972, Ji Pengfei succeeded him as Foreign Minister until 1974, and was elected CCP Central Committee member. He was appointed secretary-general of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 1975, and confirmed in 1978. In 1972, he signed Japan-China Joint Communiqué with Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka and Foreign Minister Masayoshi Ohira of Japan.

In the post-Cultural Revolution period, Ji Pengfei held several posts. In 1979 he was appointed head of the International Liaison Department of the CCP Central Committee, then vice premier and secretary-general of the State Council from 1980 to 1982, and finally head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. He also served as Standing Committee member of the Central Advisory Commission, a Party body aimed at helping the retirement of elder officials.

In 1999, his son, Ji Shengde, a senior member of the People's Liberation Army intelligence, was arrested and tried for corruption, selling classified information and diverting public funds, and was sentenced to death penalty. The penalty was commuted to 20 years in prison, when he returned stolen money and denounce other abuses.[citation needed]

Ji Pengfei was praised by the Xinhua News Agency as an outstanding communist fighter, and greatly lauded again in 2010 at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People to celebrate his 100th birth anniversary.

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Political offices
Preceded by Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China
1972–1974
Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
1975–1979
Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary General of the State Council
1979–1981
Succeeded by
Preceded by Head of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office
1983–1990
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Head of the International Liaison Department of the CCP Central Committee
1979–1982
Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
New title Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the German Democratic Republic
1953–1955
Succeeded by