In a recent development in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), there have been frequent changes in local personnel. Xiong Maoping, the Party Secretary of Dalian City in Liaoning Province, has been dismissed from his position, with the official announcement not specifying his new role. Li Qiang, the Mayor of Dalian, has assumed the position of Party Secretary of Dalian City. Meanwhile, Yao Huaming, the Party Secretary of Yingkou City, is expected to take over as the Mayor of Dalian after being appointed as the Deputy Party Secretary.
According to the Liaoning Daily, a leadership cadre meeting was convened in Dalian on September 12th, where the CCP Central Committee’s decision regarding the major leadership adjustments in Dalian City was announced. Li Qiang was appointed as a standing committee member of the Liaoning Provincial Committee and the Party Secretary of Dalian City, while Xiong Maoping was relieved of his duties as the Vice Secretary and standing committee member of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, as well as the Party Secretary of Dalian City, without specifying his future role.
On the same day, Yao Huaming, the Party Secretary of Yingkou City in Liaoning Province, was appointed as the Deputy Party Secretary of Dalian City, expected to assume the role of Mayor as per convention.
Xiong Maoping chaired the meeting on that day, as reported.
Public records show that the newly appointed Party Secretary of Dalian, Li Qiang, shares the same name as the current CCP Premier Li Keqiang. Li Qiang, born in November 1968, and his native place is not specified, has held positions such as standing committee member of the Shenyang City Committee in Liaoning Province, Secretary-General of the City Committee, and Party Secretary of the Yingkou City Committee, and served as Vice Governor of Liaoning Province in 2024. Li Qiang became the Acting Mayor of Dalian in December 2025 and officially assumed the position of Mayor in January this year.
Xiong Maoping, born in February 1967 in Yongxiu, Jiangxi Province, previously held positions such as Chairman and Party Secretary of the Jiangxi Construction Group, Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Yingtan City Committee in Jiangxi Province, Director of the Registration Bureau of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Deputy Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and Director of the Personnel Department, among others.
From October 2021 to April 2023, Xiong Maoping served as a standing committee member and Minister of Organizational Department of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, followed by the positions of standing committee member of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, Party Secretary of Dalian City, and the first secretary of the Dalian Military Region Party Committee. In July 2025, he was appointed as the Vice Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Committee and Party Secretary of Dalian City, as well as the first secretary of the Dalian Military Region Party Committee.
At the age of 59, Xiong Maoping, who is not yet at the retirement age, faces uncertainties about his future path after being relieved of his duties, sparking speculation.
Yao Huaming, born in October 1971 with an undisclosed native place, has previously worked in the banking system and held positions such as Deputy Party Secretary and Mayor of Yingkou City, before becoming the Party Secretary of Yingkou City in 2024.
In Liaoning’s political arena, where different factions have always intertwined, the affiliations of the newly promoted Li Qiang and Yao Huaming, as well as the outgoing Xiong Maoping, with the power brokers at the central level remain unclear.
Xu Jinping’s “official journalist” Du Shangze was recently promoted to become the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily, becoming China’s first “post-80s” deputy department-level official. Du believes that in the present and foreseeable future, those who can climb the ladder in the CCP hierarchy are opportunists. Without direct recommendations from Xi’s trusted aides, they have to exert greater efforts and take bigger risks to seize opportunities for advancement.