Ma Xingrui

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 Technical University) 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 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 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 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 transfer the ownership the Lok Ma Chau Loop to Hong Kong with the intention to develop it with Hong Kong.

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 not 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 between the cities of the Greater Bay Area and said the Guangdong provincial government asked the China Center for International Economic Exchanges to study the Greater Bay Area 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 a facility for Hong Kong and mainland Chinese law enforcement 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 the Party Secretary of Xinjiang. During his first tour of Ürümqi, he said the region should focus on modernizing Xinjiang's supply chains and improving 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 labor 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 Ürümqi.

In an interview with Voice of America, Abduweli Ayup, a Norway-based Uyghur activist, accused Ma of expanding forced labor. In March 2025, Ma held meeting with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai regarding Thailand's deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China. He was succeeded as party secretary by Chen Xiaojiang on 1 July 2025.

Downfall

After leaving Xinjiang, Ma became absent from the several key events since November 2025, sparking speculations about his fate. In December 2025, Chen Weijun, who served as the Executive Vice Chairman of Xinjiang under Ma's tenure, was put under investigation. In March 2026, Guo Yonghang, who served as secretary-general of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee when Ma was the Shenzhen Party secretary, was put under investigation. In April 2026, it was announced that Ma was under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) for suspected "serious violation of law and discipline" without further specification. The report of the announcement also revealed that Ma Xingrui had been appointed as the deputy leader of the Central Rural Work Leading Group at some point after leaving Xinjiang. On 26 June 2026, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress removed Ma as a delegate to the 14th National People's Congress.

On 30 June 2026, the Politburo accepted the report on Ma's cases by the CCDI. On 14 July 2026, Ma was expelled from the CCP and removed from public office. Xinhua News Agency reported his ill-gotten gains would be confiscated and that he would be handed over to the judiciary to face trial. The CCDI report stated that Ma was found to "lost his ideals and beliefs", abandoned "his political conviction", "betrayed the party's principles and original mission" and "seriously violated [the party's] political discipline and rules". Additionally, the CCDI report stated he had improperly accepted gifts and money, helped his relatives purchase properties at discounted prices, engaged in "power-for-sex and money-for-sex transactions" and fostered "rampant corruption across his family". It stated Ma used his position to seek benefits for others in business operations, project contracting and job promotions" and that through his family and associated, Ma was "illegally accepting huge amounts of money and property". The CCDI stated Ma failed to supervise and manage the illegal conduct of his staff and was "seeking benefits for others in cadre selection and appointment, and improperly arranging jobs for others, personally and through relatives". The CCDI accused Ma of not trustfully reporting his corruption during initial inquiries, stating his behavior continued after the 18th CCP National Congress, and added that Ma's behavior was "extremely serious in nature and [he was] an extremely bad influence".

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.