Zheng was born 24 February 1924 in Liujiawa Township,
Chengcheng County,
Shaanxi Province. He joined the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1938 and worked as a middle school teacher and head of Yan'an Tobacco Factory in the CCP's
Yan'an revolutionary base area. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zheng was transferred to work in the Ministry of Trade. From 1958 to 1964, he served as Commercial Counselor at the Chinese embassy in the
Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, he was dismissed in December 1990 with no reason given, and was replaced by his deputy
Li Lanqing. He officially retired in 1992. ==References==