On May 11, 2026, Zhang Aihong, deputy secretary of the Haibei Prefecture Committee and secretary of the Politics and Law Committee in Qinghai Province, was placed under investigation for suspected serious violations of discipline and law. Zhang Aihong, who had previously served in various positions in Xining City, was a key figure during the tenure of Wang Jianjun, former Secretary of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee in Xining, and the two were also classmates.
During Wang Jianjun’s term as Secretary of the Xining City Party Committee, Zhang Aihong was promoted to the position of Deputy Secretary-General of the Xining City Party Committee in December 2010. Wang Jianjun, who is currently a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Chairman of the National People’s Congress, had multiple of his associates in Xining City investigated recently.
Zhang Aihong, born in August 1971 in Tongxu County, Kaifeng City, Henan Province, graduated from the Chinese Department of Qinghai Normal College in July 1993. Over the years, she held various positions in Xining City before being appointed as the deputy secretary of the Haibei Prefecture Committee in November 2024, later concurrently serving as the secretary of the Politics and Law Committee until the current investigation.
It’s worth noting that Wang Jianjun has held various influential positions in Qinghai, being a key figure during Zhao Leji’s term in Qinghai. Wang Jianjun, born in June 1958 in Shiyan, Hubei Province, spent 19 years working in the Organization Department of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee before rising through the ranks to become the secretary.
Furthermore, Zhao Leji, a longtime worker in Qinghai, also has a history of holding key positions in the province. During his tenure as Secretary of the Qinghai Provincial Party Committee from August 2003 to March 2007, Wang Jianjun was promoted several times, demonstrating a close working relationship between the two.
In the past few months, there have been several officials in Xining City who have fallen under investigation, many of whom were promoted and trusted by Wang Jianjun during his tenure. This includes Zhang Aihong, who worked alongside Wang Jianjun and his associates.
The recent wave of investigations in Xining City saw Wang Haibin, deputy director of the Administrative Examination and Approval Service Bureau of Xining City, voluntarily surrendering on March 31, 2026. Similarly, Liu Yunzhou, former deputy director of the Administrative Committee of Xining Economic and Technological Development Zone, turned himself in on March 4, 2026.
Additionally, investigations in April and earlier this year targeted Ma Jintai, former Party Secretary and Executive Deputy Director of the Xining Chamber of Commerce, as well as Huang Xiaodong, former Director of the Finance Bureau of Xining City’s Chengxi District. Li Jinliang, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the Biotechnology Industrial Park in the Economic and Technological Development Zone, was also investigated on February 13, 2026.