An affable academic who cracks jokes and cycles to work, Chen Jining is the face of China's cleanup, turning his environment ministry from "most embarrassing" to a powerhouse that has taken on those driving growth at all costs.
Chen is no free agent — his message is tightly controlled in a country where the environment remains a sensitive issue. He is monitored and chaperoned, and many question how much of the push comes from Chen himself, a quiet professor.
His enthusiasm last year for "Under the Dome," a documentary about pollution, saw the film go viral and sparked a national debate, but Chen was quickly silenced and the film was blocked.