The Chinese Communist Party has recently seen its first deputy minister-level official from the “post-80s” generation. Du Shangze, who has previously written a series of articles praising CCP leader Xi Jinping, has been appointed as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily, a promotion to deputy ministerial level that has drawn attention.
On August 31, the official website of the CCP People’s Daily showed that Du Shangze has been appointed as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily.
This marks the first appearance of a “post-80s” member in the senior ranks of the CCP’s largest party media, the People’s Daily. Du Shangze is also the first “post-80s” deputy minister-level official in the country.
Born in Tengzhou, Shandong in October 1981, Du Shangze graduated from the School of Journalism and Communication at Nanjing University in 2004 and holds a master’s degree. She joined the People’s Daily in 2004 and has worked in various departments such as the Domestic Politics Department, General Office, International Department, and News Coordination Department. She later became the head of the Beijing branch of the People’s Daily. In August 2025, she was promoted to become a member of the editorial board and the director of the Political and Cultural Department of the People’s Daily, before being further promoted to the Deputy Editor-in-Chief in August 2026.
Du Shangze has long served as a senior reporter and dispatched journalist covering central news. Since Xi Jinping took office, she has closely followed and reported on many high-profile diplomatic and domestic inspection activities as an official reporter (under the online name or pen name “Du Xiaodu”). In 2014, she wrote an article under the pen name “Du Xiaodu,” titled “Xi-Ao Yingtai Night Talk,” about the meeting between Xi Jinping and former US President Obama, where she referred to Xi Jinping as “Xi Dada.”
In 2020, Du Shangze won the first prize of the 30th China News Award for her work “Xi Jinping: I Will Abandon Myself and not Fail the People.”
However, Xi Jinping’s “I will abandon myself” rhetoric has faced criticism. Overseas scholar Hu Ping once wrote for Radio Free Asia that the phrase “I will abandon myself” coming from Xi Jinping is truly ironic. He pointed out the extensive propaganda surrounding Xi Jinping in today’s CCP official media, including newspapers, broadcasts, the internet, screens, and the “Xi Thought Study” app, which pushes Xi’s name and image relentlessly. It is widely known that this kind of personal worship propaganda for Xi Jinping is not voluntary by the people but rather forced by the highest authorities, with Xi Jinping blowing his own trumpet and carrying his own sedan chair. In today’s world, when one asks who is the most “self-aware” and whose ego is most inflated, who can surpass Xi Jinping?
Additionally, a report primarily authored by Du Shangze was awarded the first prize in the 34th China News Award in 2024. The report praised Xi Jinping’s “unanimous election” as the President as the so-called “choice of the people.” However, it is well known that the CCP’s “elections” are not democratic, and the National People’s Congress is sarcastically called the “voting machine.”
Du Shangze’s rise through the ranks by praising Xi Jinping has sparked heated discussions on an overseas X platform.
Independent commentator Cai Shenkun posted saying Du Shangze has become the most favored propaganda mouthpiece in the Xi era through a series of obsequious articles, and it is not ruled out that she may be appointed as the Editor-in-Chief and promoted to a full ministerial level at the upcoming CCP 21st National Congress. He also questioned whether Du Shangze’s face looks similar to Xi Jinping, as he had been in the face recognition technology business for a long time.
Netizens commented: “They do look very alike.” “Another female version of Guo Moruo.” “Could it be related to Peng Liyuan?”
Some internet users said, “In the face of the great wheel of the era, individuals often have no power to change the established trajectory. However, every person with a hint of conscience should hold onto that bit of goodness in their hearts—even if they cannot eradicate evil, they should never go along with it. These literati who once held the pen high have now completely lost their integrity.”
Chinese issues expert Li Linyi told the Epoch Times that while Du Shangze is from Shandong, she did not necessarily have any special background originally, given that she has worked in the People’s Daily for over 20 years. However, her writing of a series of packaged articles for Xi has been seen as the highest form of loyalty by Xi.
Li Linyi said that during Mao Zedong’s era, many literati who were prominently used as mouthpieces ultimately did not have a good end. Currently, while Xi Jinping appears to have consolidated power on the surface, there are lurking crises. Du Shangze’s close ties with Xi may not guarantee her a trouble-free future.
Beijing scholar Yang Ming (pseudonym) previously told the Epoch Times that Xi Jinping’s reputation domestically and internationally is tarnished, facing enemies on all sides. Stubborn and conservative, whether at home or abroad, he is not truly embraced. Although Xi Jinping is still in power, those who cozy up to him are merely seeking benefits, maintaining privileged interests.
Of note, the youngest senior official at the People’s Daily before this was Hu Guo, a female deputy editor born in 1971. However, in June of this year, the information of Hu Guo and the editorial committee member and secretary-general Yu Jijun were removed from the People’s Daily official website, and their current whereabouts remain unknown.