On August 22, 2026, Zhang Zhong, a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, was promoted to the standing member and deputy secretary of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission at the sixth plenary session of the Discipline Inspection Commission. On August 31, Liu Jianyang, member of the CCP Jiangsu Provincial Committee and head of the Organization Department, was dismissed from his position. Zhang Zhong and Liu Jianyang had worked together in the Jiangsu Provincial Committee for three years.
Within ten days, two deputy-ministerial-level officials of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee underwent contrasting fates – Zhang Zhong was promoted, responsible for the purification of the officialdom, while Liu Jianyang fell from grace, in charge of personnel selection. The career backgrounds of Zhang Zhong and Liu Jianyang, along with the upheaval in the Jiangsu officialdom and its connection to power struggles within the CCP, present various intriguing points.
According to public information, Zhang Zhong, born in March 1968 in Lai Zhou, Shandong Province, graduated from the Department of Urban Construction Engineering specializing in drainage at Beijing Construction Engineering College. He had a long career at Beijing Urban Development Corporation, holding positions such as assistant general manager, party committee member, and director of the engineering department.
During Wang Qishan’s tenure as Beijing Mayor from 2003 to 2007, Zhang Zhong was promoted to Deputy General Manager and party committee member of Beijing Urban Development Group Co., Ltd. in November 2004. In October 2005, he became the Deputy General Manager of Beijing Capital Development Holdings (Group) Co., Ltd. (also serving as Chairman of Beijing Tianhong Bao Ye Real Estate Co., Ltd.). In June 2006, he was appointed as Deputy District Mayor of Beijing’s Dongcheng District Government.
After the 17th National Congress of the CCP, Zhang Zhong was transferred to the Central Organization Department in September 2008, holding positions such as Deputy Director and Director of the organizational affairs management bureau. Li Yuanchao served as a member of the Politburo and head of the Central Organization Department, with Shen Yueyue as the Deputy Director.
Li Yuanchao had various political backgrounds within the CCP, including ties to the ‘Crown Prince Party,’ the Youth League Faction, the Shanghai Clique, and the Jiangsu Faction. He was also a senior classmate of Li Keqiang from Peking University. At the 19th National Congress, Li Yuanchao, who was not yet 67 years old, was removed from the Politburo and retired.
Shen Yueyue, a native of Zhejiang, rose through the ranks within the Zhejiang Communist Youth League system and held positions in the Zhejiang and Anhui officialdoms. During Hu Jintao’s tenure, from November 2002 to November 2011, Shen Yueyue served as Deputy Minister and Executive Deputy Minister of the Central Organization Department, known as Hu Jintao’s “chief personnel officer.” He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress.
Following the 18th National Congress, Zhao Leji became a member of
the Politburo and Minister of the Central Organization Department, with Chen Xi, a close ally of Xi Jinping, as the Executive Deputy Minister of the Central Organization Department. During this time, in April 2014, Zhang Zhong was appointed as the Executive Deputy Secretary of the Office (Personnel Bureau) of the organization.
After the 19th National Congress and Chen Xi’s appointment as Minister of the Central Organization Department, Zhang Zhong became the Director of the Office for the Construction of Cadres in the Central Organization Department in September 2018. He was then transferred to Jilin Province as a member of the Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission in November 2019.
During his tenure in Jilin Province from November 2019 to July 2023, Zhang Zhong handled over a hundred cases involving high-ranking officials, including three deputy secretaries of the Jilin Provincial Public Security Department, Wang Ku, Qiu Peng, and Gao Cailin, as well as the former Party Secretary and Director of the Jilin Provincial Veterans Affairs Bureau, Li Haibin. There were others like the former Party Secretary of the Secretariat for Cryptographic Management (Provincial Party Committee General Office), Xu Zhenchang, the former Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate, Yu Chunjing, and many more.
In July 2023, Zhang Zhong was transferred across provinces to become a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and Director of the Provincial Supervision Commission.
During Zhang Zhong’s three-year term as Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission in Jiangsu Province from July 2023 to August 2026, approximately 380 officials were reported to have been removed from office on the Jiangsu Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection website. These included officials such as the Deputy Secretary of the Jiangsu Public Security Department, Deputy Director Chen Xu, the former Secretary and Director of the Land and Resources Department Xia Ming, the Chairman of the Provincial Food Group Wang Gang, the Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security Wang Bin, the Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission Xie Zhengyi, the former Party Secretary and Director of the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission Xu Guoping, among others.
Around the time of Zhang Zhong’s promotion to the Deputy Secretary of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission and the Beidaihe Conference, in July and August 2026, the Jiangsu Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection reported the downfall of over twenty officials, including Zhang Yaowu, Deputy Secretary of the Yangzhou Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, Ma Guangyue, a member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of Shuigang-Shouxihu Scenic Area in Yangzhou City, Ge Xiaoxian, former Deputy Director (deputy bureau chief level) of the Social Legal Affairs (Nationality Religion) Committee of the Nanjing Municipal Political Consultative Conference, Xi Hui, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Nanjing Transportation Construction Investment Holding (Group) Co., Ltd., Xihui, Chairman of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of the Nantong Port Group, Jiang Jinyong, Party Committee Member and Deputy General Manager of the Nantong Coastal Development Group, Chen Xinjun, and more.
Jiangsu Province is the hometown of former CCP leader Jiang Zemin. Ding Xuexiang, a current member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, as well as Wu Zhenglong, a State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council, are also from Jiangsu. Additionally, Li Keqiang, a member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and Premier of the State Council, and Shi Taifeng, a member of the CCP Politburo and Minister of the Central Organization Department, have both had leadership roles in Jiangsu.
Jiang Zemin’s hometown is Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province. In the past three years, officials in Yangzhou who have fallen from grace include Sheng Weilin, the former Party Secretary and Director of the Organization Affairs Management Bureau of Yangzhou City, Yin Xudong, Deputy Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference of Yangzhou City, Yan Junquan, former Party Committee Member and Chief Engineer of Yangzhou City Construction State-owned Assets Holding (Group), Ye Huasheng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Yangzhou City People’s Congress and Deputy Director, Chen Kaiheng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the People’s Congress of Yangzhou City and Deputy Director, Wang Xiangqian, a member of the Party Working Committee and Deputy Director of the Management Committee of the Shugang-Shouxihu Scenic Area in Yangzhou City, Ye Huasheng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Congguan-Shouxihu Scenic Area, Wang Xiangqian, and Zhang Weihui, the former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Nantong Port Group, among others.
Ding Xuexiang is from Tongzhou District in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province. In the past three years, a number of officials from Nantong City have been investigated, such as Gao Shan, Deputy Mayor and Director of the Public Security Bureau of Nantong City, Yu Lizhong, member of the Party Committee of Nantong City Government and Deputy Mayor, and Tai Jiangmiao, former Director and Party Secretary of the Emergency Management Bureau of Nantong City, Wang Zhibing, Chairman of Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone Holding Group, Zhu Weimin, former member of the Party Committee of the People’s Congress of Tongzhou District in Nantong City and Deputy Director, Huang Weifeng, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Political Consultative Conference of Haimen District in Nantong, Wu Yiping, former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Party Committee of the Nantong Water Group, among others.
Wu Zhenglong hails from Gaochun County in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. He has served in various positions in the Ministry of Machinery Industry, Chongqing, and Shanxi within the State Council of the CCP. From October 2016 to December 2022, he held the positions of Deputy Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee, Party Secretary of Nanjing, Governor of Jiangsu, and Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. During his time, Zhao Xiyong was his subordinate and deputy.
After the 20th National Congress, in March 2023, Wu Zhenglong was promoted to vice-ministerial level as a State Councilor, concurrently serving as Secretary-General of the State Council, becoming Li Keqiang’s right-hand man once again.
On April 3, 2025, Long Xiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Nanjing Municipal People’s Congress, was investigated. Subsequently, during the sensitive period of the 2025 CCP Beidaihe Conference, the Central Inspection Team entered Jiangsu Province and conducted joint inspections in Nanjing City. Officials such as Huang He, former Vice Chairman of the Nanjing Political Consultative Conference, Liu Zhiwei, former Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of Nanjing, and Yan Yingjun, former Chief of Jiangning District, were subsequently investigated. Long Xiang, Liu Zhiwei, Huang He, and Yan Yingjun were all former subordinates and close associates of Wu Zhenglong during his term as ruler of Nanjing. The prosecuted officials were also fellow villagers of Wu Zhenglong.
In the past three years, dozens of officials in Nanjing have also been investigated, including Shen Jihong, Deputy Director (deputy bureau chief) of the United Front Department of the Nanjing Municipal Committee, Hua Jing, former Deputy Secretary and Head of the United Front Department of Nanjing Municipal Committee, Luo Qun, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Nanjing Municipal People’s Congress, Li Shigui, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Nanjing Municipal People’s Congress, Cao Ming, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Nanjing Sports Bureau, Liu Qinghao, former Member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Nanjing Planning and Natural Resources Bureau, among others.
It is worth noting that Zhao Shiyong was also promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission at the sixth plenary session simultaneously with Zhang Zhong. Zhao Shiyong has also worked in the Jiangsu officialdom.
According to public records, Zhao Shiyong, born in May 1966 in Yingshan, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, has had a long career in Sichuan Province. From August 2007 to December 2019, he served as Deputy Director of the Sichuan Provincial Agriculture Department, Deputy Secretary and Deputy Governor of Liangshan Prefecture, Deputy Secretary of the Liangshan Prefecture, Secretary of the Party Committee of Xichang City, Deputy Secretary of the Ya’an Municipal Committee, Mayor, and Party Secretary of Deyang City, among other positions.
In December 2019, Zhao Shiyong was transferred across provinces to become a member of the Fujian Provincial Government Party Group and Deputy Governor, serving as the deputy to the then Fujian Governor Wu Zhenglong. In April 2021, he was promoted to a member of the CCP Fujian Provincial Committee and Secretary-General, becoming the right-hand man of then Fujian Provincial Committee Secretary Lou Qinquan.
During Wu Zhenglong’s term as Party Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee from October 2021 to December 2022, Zhao Shiyong was transferred to become the Minister of the Organizational Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee in September 2021, overseeing personnel matters under Wu Zhenglong.
After Wu Zhenglong stepped down as Party Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee in December 2022, just before heading to Beijing to assume his new position, Zhao Shiyong was transferred in October 2022 to be a member of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission and a member of the National Supervisory Commission. Zhao Shiyong was appointed as the Minister of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission and National Supervisory Commission Organization Department.
On August 31, 2026, Liu Jianyang, who was serving as a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and head of the Organization Department of the CCP, was dismissed from his position. Liu Jianyang’s political background is complex; he comes from Jiangxi’s Jiang Zemin Faction and has close ties to Xi Jinping’s Fujian Faction and the Jiangsu Faction.
Born in April 1966 in Lianhua County, Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, Liu Jianyang had a 34-year career in Nanchang City from July 1985 to December 2019. From December 2006 to December 2019, he successively held the positions of Deputy Mayor and Mayor of Nanchang City. His former leaders during his time in Nanchang, Guo An and his partner Yin Meigen, have also fallen from grace.
During Chen Xi’s tenure as Minister of the Central Organization Department, Liu Jianyang was transferred to the Secretary of the Putian Municipal Committee in Fujian Province, Chen Xi’s hometown, in December 2019. He was promoted to a member of the Fujian Provincial Committee in November 2021 and then became Secretary of the Quanzhou Municipal Committee in December 2021. In December 2022, he was once again transferred across provinces to become a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee. In March 2024, he was appointed as the Minister of the Organization Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee.
Zhang Zhong, with his complex political faction background, led significant purges in the Jiangsu officialdom, including officials from the hometown of Wu Zhenglong. Despite this, he was promoted. In contrast, Liu Jianyang, responsible for personnel selection in the Jiangsu officialdom, was removed from his position within ten days. These events reflect the complexity of power struggles within the CCP and the intricate nature of the political landscape within the party.
The influential forces of the Jiangsu officialdom and the Jiangsu Faction are deeply intertwined with the Shanghai Faction’s old and new powers. The unusual developments within the Jiangsu officialdom serve as a microcosm of the enigmatic political landscape of the CCP. How was Zhang Zhong, who vigorously purged the Jiangsu Faction, able to rise in rank? Why was Liu Jianyang, the head of the Organization Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee, swiftly dismissed? As the critical moment of the 21st National Congress of the CCP approaches, the turmoil in the Jiangsu officialdom raises questions about the future career paths of high-ranking officials from Jiangsu and individuals such as Ding Xuexiang and Wu Zhenglong who have served in Jiangsu, calling for further observation.