Former Jilin Provincial Party Secretary Jing Junhai of the Chinese Communist Party has been rumored to have fallen from grace several times since last year. However, he recently appeared at the National People’s Congress, sparking speculation about his situation. He is considered a close ally of Xi Jinping.
The National People’s Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is currently taking place in Beijing. According to official Chinese state media reports, on the afternoon of March 5th, the Jilin Provincial delegation of the People’s Congress held a plenary meeting, which Jing Junhai attended.
Subsequent reports from the delegation meetings on March 6th, 7th, and 8th continued to mention Jing Junhai’s attendance or participation in related activities. On March 6th, the Jilin Provincial delegation convened a group meeting of delegates, where Jing Junhai also spoke and mentioned the so-called “Xi Jinping’s Ecological Civilization Thought.”
Last November, following the downfall of Xi’an Municipal Party Secretary Fang Hongwei on November 7th, multiple sources leaked information suggesting that Jing Junhai, dubbed as Xi Jinping’s “house slave,” had been taken away for investigation by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission. However, on November 17th, Jing Junhai appeared at his alma mater, Xidian University in Xi’an. The official Xidian University website released a brief message with three photos of Jing Junhai’s research.
Earlier this year, news about Jing Junhai’s downfall resurfaced.
Australian freelance media personality Jiang Wangzheng released a video on January 28th claiming that Jing Junhai was once again under investigation. Jiang Wangzheng had previously predicted the downfall of Xi’an Municipal Party Secretary Fang Hongwei.
On January 29th, independent commentator Cai Shenkun in the United States posted on social media platform X that Jing Junhai, who had been repeatedly rumored to have encountered “problems,” was indeed taken away on January 29th. Cai Shenkun had previously disclosed the downfall of Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Commission member Liu Zhenli.
On February 14th, exiled activist Sheng Xue in Canada revealed on social media platform X: “According to informed sources, Jing Junhai was taken away for investigation by relevant departments more than six hours ago. The message indicated that this action was directly triggered by his recent comments in diplomatic settings: allegedly, he expressed dissatisfaction with Xi Jinping’s current policies to Singaporeans in a veiled manner. If true, this is a case of a senior official falling from grace due to “political disloyalty” and “baseless criticism of the central government.”
However, Jing Junhai has now reappeared, dispelling the rumors of his downfall.
Commentator Li Lin analyzed that Jing Junhai may have appeared while under surveillance or he may have indeed been protected. After all, he is indeed Xi’s man and also has close connections with the Secretary of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission, Li Xi, suggesting a possible compromise among the top echelons of the Chinese Communist Party.
Jing Junhai’s hometown of Baishui County borders Xi Jinping’s hometown of Fuping County. His career started in the Xi’an High-tech Zone and gradually rose to become the Deputy Governor of Shaanxi Province and Minister of the Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department. In May 2012, just before Xi Jinping took office, Jing Junhai, who had just become the Minister of the Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department, spearheaded a large-scale expansion project of Xi Jinping’s father Xi Zhongxun’s mausoleum. Subsequently, Jing Junhai’s career skyrocketed, serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, Governor of Jilin Province, and in November 2020, he was promoted to the Party Secretary of Jilin Province. However, in June 2024, the 63-year-old Jing Junhai was removed from his positions, sparking speculation. Three months later, he was appointed to a position at the National People’s Congress.
Veteran commentator Gao Xin wrote an analysis on Radio Free Asia, suggesting that around the time of the CCP’s Third Plenum in 2024, Jing Junhai was removed from his position as the Provincial Party Secretary. Rumored reasons included his son’s indiscretions, involving a Central-level beauty “journalist” as a mistress, and even causing “loss of lives.” It is highly likely that Jing Junhai’s “corruption and misconduct issues” may have crossed the threshold of “serious violations of discipline and law” dealt with by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission, but it was suppressed by Secretary Li Xi. Because Li Xi was well aware that although Xi Jinping was furious to see the investigation materials of Jing Junhai, he couldn’t ignore Jing Junhai’s critical contribution to his father’s tomb expansion.
Gao Xin stated that Li Xi’s protection of Jing Junhai was not only due to the saying “when you want to catch a dog, you must look at its owner,” but also due to the fact that Li Xi and Jing Junhai were drinking buddies when they worked together in the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government. At the end of 2004, Li Xi was “transferred” from the position of Provincial Party Secretary of Gansu Province to Shaanxi, where he served as a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee and Secretary-General. At that time, Jing Junhai, who was the Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Xi’an High-tech Zone, speculated that the central authorities were grooming Li Xi as the next Provincial Party Secretary of Shaanxi. Therefore, he tried his best to establish a relationship with Li Xi and quickly gained his favor, using his connections in the Xi’an market and the Xi’an High-tech Zone that he controlled to provide sufficient convenience for Li Xi’s residence arrangements in Xi’an and job arrangements for his children.