Chen Qiufa was born in December 1954 in Chengdu County (now Chengbu Miao Autonomous County), Hunan Province. He is a member of the Miao minority. He began working in March 1973 as a teacher at Lianxing Elementary School in Chengbu, and joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in September 1974.[2]
On May 4, 2015, Chen Qiufa was appointed Acting Governor and Deputy Party Secretary of Liaoning province, succeeding Li Xi, who was promoted to Party Secretary.[1] Along with Ma Xingrui and Zhang Qingwei, Chen was one of a growing number of high regional officials in his generation who rose through the aerospace industry.[citation needed] Chen's appointment to Liaoning also demonstrated that being a provincial-level PPCC chief was no longer considered a "political retirement home" for older politicians, and that holders of this office could still be considered for further promotion.[3] He was appointed as the CCP Committee Secretary of Liaoning in 2017.[4] He was replaced by Zhang Guoqing in 2020.[5]