He was the vice governor, then Deputy Communist Party Secretary of Jilin province.
Ma's political career originated in the Jilin provincial organization of the Communist Youth League, in which he served as deputy secretary, and secretary, before being transferred to serve as mayor of Songyuan.
He later served as party chief of Siping, and the secretary-general of the Jilin government.
He joined the Jilin provincial Party Standing Committee as head of the propaganda department in 2004;[1] later he took on the office of the secretary-general of the Jilin provincial party committee, and in August 2008, was re-shuffled to Vice-Governor.
[2] In November 2015, he was named deputy party chief of Jilin province.