Background

Long Yongtu was born in Hunan Province in 1943.

Education

Long received his BA degree in British and American literature from Guizhou University in 1965, and conducted postgraduate studies in economics at the London School of Economics from 1973 to 1974.

Career

He joined the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) in 1965, and from 1978 to 1980 served as a diplomat in China’s mission to the United Nations in New York. For the next six years he worked in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), first in its New York headquarters and then in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, serving as the deputy resident representative of the UNDP Office.

After eight years of diplomatic service abroad, Long returned to China in 1986 and became deputy director of the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE). In January 1992, Long was appointed director of the Department of International Relations, MOFTEC, and assistant minister of the Ministry in April 1994; three years later, he was named vice minister and the chief representative for trade negotiations of MOFTEC. As the chief negotiator for China’s resumption of GATT contracting party status and its accession to the World Trade Organization, Long dedicated over ten years to this prolonged negotiation to bring China into the global trading system. Apart from trade negotiations, Long was also in charge of multilateral economic and trade affairs between China and the United Nations development agencies. He was fully involved in APEC affairs and attended the APEC meetings of trade ministers each year from 1992–2001. Long has also been active in promoting regional economic cooperation. He was involved in creating the Regional Economic Development Cooperation Committee of the Tumen River Area in Northeast Asia and chaired the committee’s first ministerial meeting in Beijing in April 1996.

Achievements

• Apart from his official duties, Long is the dean of the School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University and visiting professor of many renowned Chinese academic institutions, including Peking University, Tsinghua University, Renmin University, Nankai University, Zhejiang University, and Wuhan University. He is also a board member of Shantou University. In July 2006, Long was awarded an honorary doctorate in economics by the London School of Economics and Political Science. In October 2004, Long received a special award from the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, for his outstanding contribution to the UN partnership with China and in promoting the values of the UN. On 8 August 2005, King Albert II of Belgium decreed the Insignia of Officer in the Order of Leopold to Long, for his outstanding contributions to the facilitation of regional cooperation in Asia, and the promotion of Sino-European and Sino-Belgian economic and trade relations.