After being removed from his position as a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee for a month, Guo Yonghang resigned from his position as a deputy to the Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, thus terminating his status as a representative. Guo Yonghang used to serve as the chief secretary of Ma Xingrui, a member of the CCP Political Bureau.
On January 23, 2026, the Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress website published an announcement from the Standing Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress. The announcement included the decision of the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee to accept Guo Yonghang’s resignation from the fourteenth session of the provincial People’s Congress and terminate his qualification as a representative.
A month ago, on December 24, 2025, official reports stated that Guo Yonghang was relieved of his duties as a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee with the explanation “Central has another appointment.” However, he has not yet been seen taking up a new position.
Guo Yonghang, born in October 1965 in Jiyang, Shandong Province, had a long career in Shenzhen. In May 2015, he was promoted from Secretary of the Yantian District Committee of Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, to a member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee until he was transferred to the Secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee in February 2018. Guo Yonghang was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee and Acting Mayor in December 2021, Mayor of Guangzhou in January 2022, and then became a member of the Standing Committee of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee in June 2023.
Just two weeks ago, on January 9, 2026, Guo Yonghang’s former subordinate, Guo Caiwu, a member of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department, was also investigated.
Guo Caiwu, born in October 1968 in Nanxiong, Guangdong Province, had a long career at the General Office of the Guangdong Provincial Committee. He served as Secretary-General of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee in Guangdong Province from January 2014 and has been a member of the Standing Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee, Guangdong Province, for nearly ten years since December 2016. Guo Yonghang served as the Secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee under Guo Caiwu from February 2018 to December 2021.
Of note, Guo Yonghang was the chief secretary during Ma Xingrui’s tenure as the head of Shenzhen, who is also a fellow native of Shandong.
In November 2013, Ma Xingrui became Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Politics and Law Committee, then served as the Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee in March 2015, became Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Governor in January 2017, and was promoted to Secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in December 2021.
Since Ma Xingrui arrived in Shenzhen in March 2015, Guo Yonghang became his Secretary-General in May of the same year. When Ma Xingrui was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee and Governor, Guo Yonghang served as the Secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Committee.
After being removed from his position as Secretary of the Xinjiang Party Committee on July 1, 2025, rumors surrounding Ma Xingrui’s situation have persisted. Over the past two months, Ma Xingrui has been absent from various meetings of the CCP Political Bureau, Central Economic Work Conference, Political Bureau Democratic Life Meeting, and the recent opening ceremony of the seminar for senior provincial and ministerial officials.
At the same time, both the Guangdong and Xinjiang political landscapes led by Ma Xingrui have been purged, with former colleagues consecutively falling, including Chen Weijun, Deputy Executive Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Government; Li Xu, Deputy Commander of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; and Dai Beifang, former Chairman of the Shenzhen Municipal Political Consultative Conference, among other deputy-ministerial-level officials.