Chen Gongbo was born in northern Guangdong, Qing Empire, to Hakka peasants originally from Shanghang County, Tingzhou, western Fujian in 1892.

Some of the fundamental national economic policies he helped set in this period remained in practice under various Chinese political regimes until the 1970s.

After nominal rule over Shanghai was turned over to the Nanjing Nationalist Government by Japan in November 1940, Chen was appointed mayor.

He Yingqin asked Japan's representative Gen. Okamura Yasuji to extradite Chen Gongbo to China to stand trial for treason.

He insisted that as president he had refused to cooperate with the Japanese in several significant matters and had acted only because of his loyalty to his friend, Wang Jingwei.