Do we like them?

Do we like Ding Xuexiang?

Our score: 5 out of 10. Little in the sources we could open says either way, and a senior post in a system with a poor record on rights keeps this from going higher.

Ding Xuexiang is a very senior figure in Chinese politics, and reports in 2026 describe him as the vice premier handling science and technology policy. A Chinese state-linked outlet reported him urging steady, sustained progress in science and technology in January 2026. That is the public-facing job, and it's all we can pin down from pages we could read.

On research, state-linked reporting from May 2026 had him calling for better basic research and original innovation during inspection tours. That's official-speak from an official outlet, so it tells you what his job is, not what he personally believes.

On the planet, China's foreign ministry said he would travel to the UAE for the World Climate Action Summit in late 2023 at the UAE president's invitation. Turning up to a climate summit is not the same as a climate record, and we didn't find his own climate commitments or decisions in what we could open.

On the harm check, we found no statements from him about trans people, LGBTQ+ people, women or migrants in sources we could read. Search results also pointed to protests by Uyghur, Tibetan and Hong Kong activists around a planned Netherlands visit, from an advocacy outlet that gives one side. Without his own words or a court or regulator outcome, we can't call it either way.

The good-stuff side is just as empty. We found no charity work, personal kindness or acts at personal cost to him. That reflects how little is public about an official like this, not proof there's nothing there.