YANG Lei's decision to quit a government position in 2020 took many by surprise. His job as deputy director general in charge of oil and gas at China's National Energy Administration (NEA) was the result of an 18-year climb up the career ladder that put him on a shortlist of potential contenders to be energy minister. Instead, Yang left to co-found the Institute of Energy Research at Peking University, where he serves as vice president and research professor. Such role-shifting is uncommon in China, where people rarely leave government service to join academia. Despite the benefits that come with a position of power, Yang admits that being a government official was not his cup of tea. At NEA, he was focused on implementing policies, making decisions and managing resources to achieve specific goals set by the government, which involved dealing with complex bureaucratic processes, navigating the political landscape, balancing competing priorities and negotiating compromises.
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