Ma Guoqiang

Ma Guoqiang (; born November 1963) is a Chinese politician, engineer, and business executive. He had served as Deputy Party Secretary of Hubei province and Party Secretary of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, from 2018 to 2020. Ma previously served as Chairman of Baowu Group, China's largest steelmaker. He is an alternate and then a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and was a delegate to the 8th National People's Congress.

Early life and education Ma was born in Dingzhou, Hebei in November 1963. He is a member of the Hui ethnic group.

Political career Ma was a delegate to the 8th National People's Congress (1993–1998). He was elected an alternate of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in 2017.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wuhan residents criticized Ma and his subordinate, mayor Zhou Xianwang for their slow response to the epidemic. In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on 27 January 2020, Zhou admitted that the city government had failed to promptly disclose information about the outbreak and offered to resign, although he added that "it's an infectious disease, and relevant information should be released according to the law. As a local government, we can only disclose information after being authorized." When Ma was interviewed by television host Bai Yansong four days later, he expressed his feelings of "regret, guilt and self-blame".

On February 13, 2020, Ma was removed from his posts as deputy party secretary of Hubei and party secretary of Wuhan. He was succeeded by Wang Zhonglin, Communist Party Secretary of Jinan.

In August 2021, he became a member of the Party Branch Committee of Hubei People's Congress. On 23 January 2022, he became vice chairman of Hubei People's Congress.

In October 2022, he became a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.