On April 28, 2026, Li Xuan, a former associate of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Ma Xingrui in Xinjiang, was taken down from his position. This came within a month and a half after Ma Xingrui himself was officially removed from his post on April 3, 2026, leading to a string of investigations into at least eight officials in Xinjiang.
The website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission reported on April 28, 2026, that Li Xuan, the Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.
Li Xuan, born in May 1974, is of the Hui ethnicity. He previously held positions such as Party Secretary, Chairman, and General Manager of the Xinjiang Supply and Marketing Investment (Holding) Group Co., Ltd., as well as Party Secretary and Director of the Board of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
After Ma Xingrui was promoted from Governor of Guangdong Province to Party Secretary of Xinjiang at the end of 2021, he also assumed the role of head of the working group for the Xinjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone. Li Xuan was promoted to his position as the Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Department of Commerce of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2024, in addition to serving as the Director of the Xinjiang Pilot Free Trade Zone Working Office, becoming a key confidant of Ma Xingrui.
The announcement of Ma Xingrui’s removal from office took place on April 3, 2026. Since then, within approximately a month and a half, following the conclusion of the meetings of the Chinese Communist Party, besides Li Xuan, at least seven other officials in Xinjiang have been successively announced to be under investigation.
On April 24, 2026, Xia Jianguo, the former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Construction Engineering (Group) was investigated. Xia Jianguo had served as the General Manager, Party Secretary, and Chairman of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering Group.
On April 20, 2026, Zhang Guohua, a member of the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth People’s Congress of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was investigated. Zhang Guohua had held positions such as General Manager, Chairman, and Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Nonferrous Metal Industry (Group).
On April 9, 2026, Ma Jianxin, the Deputy Secretary and Director of the Party Group of the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture People’s Congress Standing Committee, was removed from office. Ma Jianxin had previously served as Deputy Secretary of the Changji Municipal Party Committee, Mayor of Changji, as well as member of the Standing Committee and Director of the Propaganda Department of the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture Party Committee.
On March 30, 2026, Zhang Xiucheng, the Director of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People’s Congress Supervision and Judicial Committee, was subject to investigation. Zhang Xiucheng had held positions such as Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Department of Justice of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the First Political Commissar of the Autonomous Region Prison Administration Bureau.
Additionally, Wang Yujun, a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Prison Administration Bureau, and General Manager of Huaxin Ruian Group Co., Ltd., was investigated on March 23, 2026; Zhao Laijiang, former member of the Standing Committee and Deputy Commander of the Twelfth Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, was investigated on March 16, 2026; Chen Daoqiang, former Deputy Secretary and General Manager of Xinjiang Zhongtai Group, was investigated on March 13, 2026.
In July 2025, Ma Xingrui was unusually removed from his position as Party Secretary of Xinjiang, leading to a series of investigations into high-ranking officials in the region. On November 1, 2025, Jin Zhizhen, a member of the Party Group and Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Political Consultative Conference, was taken down; on November 30, 2025, Chen Weijun, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Government, was removed from office; and on January 8, 2026, Li Xu, a member of the Standing Committee of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and Vice Commander, was investigated.