Zhang Gaoli: who is the politician accused by tennis player Peng Shuai

An email still does not convince about the whereabouts of Peng Shuai 2:59

(CNN Spanish) -

Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai has disappeared from the public scene since she accused Zhang Gaoli, a former leader of the Communist Party, of sexual assault.

Here, what we know about the former Chinese Vice Premier.

Peng, 35, a two-time Grand Slam doubles champion, accused Zhang Gaoli of coercing her into having sex at her home, in a post on the tennis player's social media (which has since been deleted) on November 2.

Zhang Gaoli is originally from Jinjiang, in Fujian province, according to China Vitae.

He was born in 1946, graduated from Xiamen University in 1970 with a specialization in planning and statistics from the Department of Economics, and joined the Communist Party of China in 1973, according to official information from the State Council.

Zhang Gaoli's long political career in the Communist Party of China

Zhang Gaoli served on the Standing Committee of the Communist Party Politiburo, the country's supreme governing body, from 2012 to 2017, during the first term of Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

He retired as deputy prime minister in 2018.

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Zhang held various positions in the party and in the government of Guangdong province for about 12 years.

He also held various leadership positions in the party in Shenzhen.

And from 2002 to 2003 he was governor of Shandong province.

Personal life

According to 2013 information from the state news agency Xinhua, Zhang's wife is Kang Jie, who was his colleague when they both worked at the Maoming Oil Company in Guangdong.

In addition, the agency reports that he has a son who at the time was working at the grassroots level in the Chinese People's Liberation Army after graduating from a military academy.

In the social media post that was removed, Peng accused Zhang of forcing her to have sex and alleges a relationship for an intermittent period that lasted at least 10 years.

About three years ago, after Zhang retired, the publication alleges that he was the one who invited her to play tennis in Beijing.

Afterward, he wrote, Zhang and his wife took Peng to their home, where Peng claimed that she was pressured into having sex with Zhang.

"That afternoon I did not agree at first and cried all the time," Peng wrote.

After having dinner with Zhang and his wife, and after Zhang persuaded her, she relented, according to the publication.

Some of the biggest names in the sport have asked China to confirm their safety and investigate their allegations.

The President and CEO of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), Steve Simon, has threatened to withdraw from China if Peng is not taken into account and his allegations are not properly investigated.

CNN cannot independently verify the authenticity of the 1,600+ word post.