On September 14, 2026, Huo Bugang, a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee; Li Jinke, a member of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee. On September 12, 2026, Li Qiang, Mayor of Dalian, was promoted to Secretary of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee; Hu Lijie, Secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee Organization Department, was transferred to the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee Organization Department. Three and a half months ago, on May 30, 2026, Guan Zhiou, Minister of Natural Resources of the Communist Party of China, was appointed Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee.
It’s worth noting that the recent promotions or transfers of Li Jinke, Li Qiang, Hu Lijie, and Guan Zhiou all have roots in Liaoning officials and are not officials in Xi Jinping’s camp, but rather trusted allies of Li Keqiang, a former member of the Central Committee, Premier, and Youth League official, and Chen Zhenggao and Zeng Wei, both former subordinates of Liaoning underlings; Huo Bugang was a former subordinate of Li Keqiang’s Liaoning native steward Xiao Jie.
The removed Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee Wang Zhonglin was a member of the Xi Family Army Shandong faction; Xiong Maoping, the removed Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee, started his career in the Jiangxi faction of the bigwig Zeng Qinghong’s hometown officialdom; Liu Jianyang, the fallen Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee Organization Department, had backgrounds in the Jiangxi faction of the Zeng Qinghong’s Jiangxi Gang and the Xi Family Army Fujian Gang.
On the eve of the Fifth Plenary Session, there was a major shuffle of provincial and ministerial-level officials in the Communist Party of China, with the Xi Family Army and Zeng Qinghong’s people being purged, and officials with hidden connections to Li Keqiang being promoted or transferred to politically sensitive regions like Jiangsu and Hubei provinces, reflecting the intricate power struggles at the top of the CCP and the true power status of Xi Jinping.
According to official reports, on September 12, 2026, Li Qiang, Mayor of Dalian, was promoted to a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee, while Xiong Maoping was removed from his positions as Deputy Secretary and member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee.
According to public biographies, Xiong Maoping, born in February 1967, is now 59 years old, a native of Yongxiu, Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province. He had served successively in the Jiangxi officialdom, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Liaoning officialdom. In July 2025, he was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, only to be removed 14 months later, and his current career path is uncertain.
Li Qiang, born in November 1968, had long served in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, holding positions such as Deputy Director and Director of the Shenyang City Urban Housing Demolition Management Office, Deputy Secretary-General of the city government, Director of the Planning and Land Resources Bureau, Deputy Secretary and District Head of Shenbei New District Party Committee, Deputy Secretary, District Head, and Party Secretary of Heping District, member of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee and Secretary-General, and other positions. In January 2021, he was transferred to Secretary of Yingkou City Party Committee and in March 2024, was promoted to Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province, reaching the deputy ministerial level. In December 2025, he was transferred to Deputy Secretary of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee and Mayor.
During Li Qiang’s tenure in Shenyang, he worked under Chen Zhenggao, a trusted ally of Li Keqiang, and Zeng Wei, Li Keqiang’s former steward.
Former member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee and Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang served as Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee from December 2004 to October 2007. At that time, Zeng Wei served as a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, Secretary-General, and Director of the Provincial Party Committee Office, and later as Li Keqiang’s steward for nearly three years.
After Li Keqiang became Secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee, he made efforts to carry out housing renovation work in shantytowns and mining subsidence areas. Chen Zhenggao, then Mayor of Shenyang, actively promoted related work. In December 2005, Chen Zhenggao was promoted to a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee; in December 2007, he was appointed Governor of Liaoning Province and promoted the renovation of shantytowns across the province. After Li Keqiang was promoted to Premier of the State Council, Chen Zhenggao moved to Beijing in April 2014 to become Secretary of the Party Group of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. He was then appointed Minister in June 2014, and held this position until stepping down when he turned 65 years old in June 2017.
Li Keqiang’s steward Zeng Wei took over from Chen Zhenggao in January 2008 and served as Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee for eight and a half years, then from July 2015 to December 2016, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee.
On September 14, 2026, it was officially announced that Li Jinke, a member and Secretary-General of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee.
Li Jinke, a Manchurian, was born in August 1968 in Kuandian, Dandong City, Liaoning Province. He graduated from Northeast Normal University with a major in mathematics. He worked for more than 20 years in the Liaoning Provincial Government from May 1995 to 2017.
During Chen Zhenggao’s tenure as Governor of Liaoning Province from December 2007 to April 2014, Li Jinke was promoted from Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Sixth Division of the Provincial Government Office to a member of the Party Group and Deputy Director, serving as Chen Zhenggao’s subordinate and deputy steward for six and a half years.
In January 2018, Li Jinke was promoted from Secretary-General of the Liaoning Provincial Government to Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province; in July 2019, he was transferred to a member of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Party Committee and Minister of Propaganda; in October 2024, he was transferred to a member of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department; in April 2025, he was appointed a member of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and Secretary-General.
On September 12, 2026, media reports from Jiangsu showed that Hu Lijie, a member of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, had been transferred to a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department.
The former member of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department Liu Jianyang was investigated and removed from his post on August 31, 2026. Liu Jianyang was a native of Lianhua County, Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, and worked in Nanchang, Jiangxi for 34 years, where he was repeatedly promoted by former Politburo member and Minister of the Organization Department, Chen Xi, and served as a leader in Chen Xi’s hometown of Putian.
According to public resumes, Hu Lijie, a female born in October 1971 in Dashiqiao, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, joined the workforce in July 1998. She previously served as a principal staff member and deputy director of the Shayi Economic Development Zone Management Committee in Xinchengzi, Shenyang; then transferred to the Liaoning Institution Establishments Committee Office (Liaoning Institution Organization). The Liaoning Institution Organization is a government agency of the Liaoning Provincial Government.
During Chen Zhenggao’s term as Governor of Liaoning Province, in November 2013, Hu Lijie was promoted from Deputy Director of the Liaoning Institutional Organization to Deputy Mayor of Panjin. From 2015 onwards, Hu Lijie served as a member of the Panjin Municipal Party Committee, Minister of the Organization Department, Chairperson and Party Secretary of the Liaoning Women’s Federation, Deputy Director of the Liaoning Provincial Committee Organization Department, member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee, and Minister of the United Front Work Department; in February 2024, he was transferred to a member of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the United Front Work Department.
According to a report from Shenyang News, on September 14, 2026, Huo Bugang, Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee, conducted a research visit to the Shenyang District of the Free Trade Zone.
The above information indicates that Huo Bugang, who was previously a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee, has now succeeded Xiong Maoping, who was dismissed, and been promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee.
According to public resumes, Huo Bugang, born in August 1970 in Huai’an, Jiangsu Province, graduated from the Philosophy Department of Beijing Normal University. From July 1995 to February 2018, he worked for more than 20 years at the Ministry of Finance of the Communist Party of China, a former colleague of Li Keqiang, with a long-standing connection to Xiao Jie, Li Keqiang’s steward at the Ministry of Finance.
Xiao Jie, a native of Kaiyuan, Tieling City, Liaoning Province, had a long career at the Ministry of Finance of the Communist Party before being promoted to Deputy Minister of Finance from September 2001 to July 2005. In August 2007, he became Director of the State Administration of Taxation; in March 2013, he was appointed Executive Vice Minister of the State Council (Ministerial level), responsible for the daily work of Premier Li Keqiang; in November 2016, he became Minister of Finance; in March 2018, he was promoted to State Councilor and Secretary-General of the State Council, serving as Li Keqiang’s steward; from March 2023 until now, he has been Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress.
During Li Keqiang’s tenure as Premier of the State Council and Xiao Jie’s tenure as Minister of Finance, Huo Bugang was transferred from Deputy Director of the Science and Education Department of the Ministry of Finance to the position of Party Secretary and Director of the Liaoning Provincial Finance Department in Xinmin County, Xiao Jie’s hometown.
In April 2021, Huo Bugang was transferred to Secretary of the Liaoyang Municipal Party Committee; in January 2023, he was promoted to Deputy Governor of Liaoning Province; in February 2024, he was promoted to a member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee; in May 2025, he was transferred to Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee.
On May 30, 2026, Guan Zhiou, Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Communist Party of China, succeeded Wang Zhonglin as Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee. Wang Zhonglin, 64 years old, had served as Secretary of the Hubei Provincial Party Committee for less than a year, and took up the post of Deputy Chairman of the Environmental and Resources Protection Committee of the National People’s Congress on June 26, 2026.
According to public resumes, Guan Zhiou was born on December 20, 1969, a Manchurian from Shenyang, Liaoning Province. He graduated from the Department of Biology at Shenyang Normal University and obtained a master’s degree in ecology from Shenyang Agricultural University. He worked in Shenyang for 20 years from 1995 to 2015.
During Chen Zhenggao’s seven-year tenure as Mayor and Party Secretary of Shenyang City from December 2000 to December 2007, Guan Zhiou successively served as Deputy Director of the Shenyang Agricultural High-Tech Zone Management Committee, Deputy Director of the Shenyang Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, Deputy Secretary and Director of the Party Group, Party Secretary, and County Governor of Faku County.
Zeng Wei took over as Secretary of the Shenyang Municipal Party Committee for eight and a half years from January 2008 to August 2016. During his tenure, Guan Zhiou was promoted to Secretary of the Party Committee of Faku County in 2008, Director and Party Secretary of the Planning and Land Resources Bureau of Shenyang City (City Geographic Information Bureau) in 2010, and Deputy Mayor of Shenyang City in January 2013.
After July 2015, Guan Zhiou served as Director and Party Secretary of the Liaoning Rural Economy Committee, member of the Liaoning Provincial Government Party Group, Party Secretary and Secretary-General of the Office of the Provincial Government, member of the Liaoning Provincial Committee, Chairman of the Provincial General Workers’ Union, member of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial Committee, and Minister of Propaganda Department, and more.
In May 2020, Guan Zhiou was transferred to the Party Group of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Secretary of the Party Group of the State Forestry and Grassland Bureau (State Park Management Bureau), serving as the deputy to Minister Lu Hao. Lu Hao is a senior official of the Communist Youth League, a fellow alumnus of Li Keqiang, and was serving as Minister of the Ministry of Finance while Li Keqiang was Premier of the State Council.
In June 2022, Lu Hao was transferred to Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Development Research Center of the State Council. Vice Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources Wang Guanghua was appointed Secretary of the Party Group of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Minister. Wang Guanghua, from Xingyang, Henan Province, graduated from the Geography Department, majoring in Economic Geography, at Peking University. He is a fellow alumnus of Li Keqiang and Lu Hao and served in the Ministry of Land and Resources for a long time.
After serving as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources under Wang Guanghua for two and a half years, Guan Zhiou succeeded Wang Guanghua in December 2024, assuming the position of Secretary of the Party Group and Minister of the Ministry of Natural Resources; becoming the youngest Minister of a State Council department at that time.
After Xi Jinping came to power at the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Liaoning officialdom continued to be cleansed. At the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the Youth League faction was destroyed, and Li Keqiang abruptly died seven months after publicly retiring at the end of October 2023.
After the Third Plenum of the 20th National Congress, there were ongoing rumors of a power crisis for CCP leader Xi Jinping. In April 2025, members of the Politburo, Shi Taifeng and Li Ganjie, made unusual job swaps, with Shi Taifeng taking over as Minister of the Organization Department and Li Ganjie transferred from the Organization Department to Minister of the Central United Front Work Department. This move sparked speculation in the outside world that Xi might have lost control over personnel decisions.
Li Ganjie, a prominent figure in the Xi Family Army affiliated with Tsinghua University, was transferred to the United Front Work Department and has yet to concurrently serve as Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference as is customary. Shi Taifeng was a former colleague of Hu Jintao at the Central Party School, a close ally of members of the Youth League like Li Keqiang and Hu Chunhua, and a fellow alumnus of Li Keqiang from Peking University’s Faculty of Law.
From June 2026 to the present, a sensitive period involving high-level personnel arrangements for the 21st National Congress of the CCP and the upcoming Fifth Plenum, it was reported that Wei Xiaodong, the political broker of the “Fujian-Jiang Five Tigers” (Cai Qi, Huang Kunming, He Lifeng, Wang Xiaohong, Chen Xi) of the Xi Family, was investigated and removed from his post as Chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; the Fujian and Shandong factions of the Xi Family were repeatedly purged. Liaoning-affiliated officials close to Li Keqiang were promoted to important positions, once again reflecting Xi Jinping’s power crisis and the turbulent political situation in the Zhongnanhai. Whether there will be major personnel changes at the upcoming Fifth Plenum and the 21st National Congress of the CCP one year from now is worth further attention.