China's new commerce minister, Zhong Shan, made his first public appearance in the role on Monday at the two-day National Foreign Investment Work Conference in Beijing. 

The conference discusses work carried out to absorb foreign investment, analyzes the current foreign investment environment, summarizes the construction of free-trade zones in 2016, and looks into plans for 2017. 

Zhong, who also serves as the Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of MOFCOM, was born in 1955 and began his professional career in July 1972. He joined the Communist Party of China in June 1974.

Zhong holds a PhD in economics from Zhejiang University and is a senior economist. Before being appointed to his new post, he worked as China's International Trade Representative and Vice Minister and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group of the Ministry of Commerce.