When Zhang Gaoli was born into an impoverished peasant's family 66 years ago, no one might have imagined that he would become one of China's most powerful people.

The self-dubbed "poor boy," however, made it when he was elected last month to the top slate of leadership of China's ruling party.

Zhang became member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on November 15, along with Xi Jinping, elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan and Wang Qishan.

The story of Zhang, who has ascended step by step to top ranks, is a typical example of personal struggle in the Chinese political sphere.

Zhang's ancestors were all poor peasants in coastal Panjing Village, located in Jinjiang in southeast China's Fujian Province.

His father died when Zhang was three years old. His mother managed to sustain his schooling despite family poverty. The diligent Zhang entered the prestigious Xiamen University in 1965, studying statistics in its Economics Department.

After his graduation in 1970, four years into the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Zhang worked at the Maoming Oil Company in Guangdong. He spent more than a year working as a crane operator and loader, backpacking cement almost every day.

He later became an office clerk, deputy secretary of the oil company's committee of the Communist Youth League of China, and deputy secretary of the Party committee of the company's refinery.

In 1984, he made his way to general manager of the company and concurrently served as deputy secretary of the CPC Maoming city committee.

An economist by training, Zhang began to lead the Guangdong provincial economic commission in 1985, and three years later became vice governor of Guangdong.

 Old hand of economic management

Tianjin residents pinned great hopes on Zhang when he became Party chief of the port city neighboring Beijing in March 2007. They hoped the old hand in economic management groomed in the country's reform and opening-up frontiers, such as Shenzhen, would help the city regain its past glory as one of the country's economic hubs.

Zhang did not let them down.

Despite slowdowns in both the Chinese and global economies during the period from 2007 to 2011, Tianjin scored continuous growth in its gross domestic product (GDP), with an annual increase of 16.5 percent for five consecutive years.

The city's per capita GDP growth topped $13,000 last year, putting it ahead of all others in the country.

More than 1,000 highly polluting and resources-consuming enterprises were shut down during the five years, while hi-tech industries, such as supercomputers, new-type carrier rockets and aircraft, gradually became the city's economic backbone.

The Airbus assembly line in Tianjin has assembled more than 100 A320 planes and has been hailed as a model for China-Europe cooperation.

The city has also become a rotating host of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum.

Zhang's achievements in Tianjin owed much to the experience he amassed while working in both Guangdong and Shandong.