Qin Xiao

Qin Xiao (Chinese: 秦晓; pinyin: Qín Xiǎo; born April 1947) is a Chinese former banker and promoter of economic and financial reform. Among numerous senior positions in the state-controlled sector, Qin was the chairman of China Merchants Group and China Merchants Bank from the 2001 to 2010. He is the founding chairman of the Hong Kong-registered Boyuan Foundation.

Biography Qin's father was a senior party cadre. When in high school in 1966, the Cultural Revolution began and Qin Xiao became a Red Guard. As many Red Guards were in fact targeting people such as his father, Qin created a faction that defended against such radical attacks. At the end of the Cultural Revolution, like many former Red Guards he was relocated to the countryside (in his case Inner Mongolia).

Business After several years working in government (including time at the Coal and Oil ministries), In 2008 he became a non-executive director of China Telecom. He is also the honorary chairman of Hong Kong Chinese Enterprises Association

Politics In 2010 he retired from full-time business, stating he wished to become a "public intellectual". Since then, he has used his position as a respected business leader and chairman of the Boyuan Foundation to promote "universal values" in China, whilst building a network of like-minded movers and shakers.

Education Qin graduated in 1975 from the Shanxi Mining Institute with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He is a part-time professor at the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University and the Graduate School of the People's Bank of China.

Writing Qin has written several books and articles, including: Asia's financial crisis and the post-crisis recovery: a structural and institutional perspective (University of Hong Kong. Chinese Management Centre, 2000) The theory of the firm and Chinese enterprise reform: the case of China International Trust and Investment Corporation (RoutledgeCurzon 2004)