Before the Fifth Plenary Session of the 2026 Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, there is ongoing turmoil in the officialdom. The current Mayor of Xi’an, Ye Niuping, was formerly the “chief secretary” during the tenure of the former member of the CPC Political Bureau, Ma Xingrui, as the Governor of Guangdong Province. Ye has been unusually absent for the past half month, with rumors circulating on the internet that he is under investigation, but it cannot be confirmed at the moment. Some analysts believe that it is necessary to observe until the end of this month for further developments.
On October 1st, Xi’an TV aired footage of Ye Niuping inspecting the city’s work during the National Day holiday, marking his first public appearance since September.
However, Ye Niuping subsequently missed the Xi’an Municipal Committee meeting on October 10th and the Xi’an Municipal Committee general meeting on October 12th. During the October 10th Xi’an Municipal Committee meeting, which focused on studying Xi Jinping’s so-called “important speech,” Ye Niuping was the only “head” of the four sets of teams from Xi’an Municipal Committee, People’s Congress, Government, and Political Consultative Conference who was absent.
According to Hong Kong’s “Sing Tao Daily,” local sources mentioned that the “official explanation” was that Ye Niuping had gone to Beijing to study at the Central Party School. He might rush back to Xi’an during the holidays to fulfill his duties as the mayor.
It is reported that the training program for mid-level cadres at the Central Party School generally lasts for no less than 2 months. The opening ceremony for the autumn semester of 2026 was held on August 29th. If he entered the school for this study session, he would likely not come out until at least the end of October.
Hong Kong media commented that after attending the Party School for further studies, there is a possibility of being promoted. However, in the past, there have been cases of officials being taken away from the Party School by the disciplinary inspection commission, turning their educational stint into a “clever ploy.” There are strong rumors in the political circles of Shaanxi that Zhang Ye, the Secretary of Hanzhong, is a frontrunner to become the next Mayor of Xi’an.
Regarding the news of Ye Niuping’s investigation, it had already spread on overseas platforms in September.
On November 7th last year, Xi’an Municipal Party Secretary Fang Hongwei was reported to have fallen from grace and was succeeded by the former Secretary of Yan’an Municipal Committee, Hao Huijie.
On September 21st, rumors about Ye Niuping being investigated had already circulated on foreign platforms.
On September 29th, the “Hua Shang Bao” reported that, on that day, at the behest of Ye Niuping, who is the Mayor and Party Committee Secretary of Xi’an, Yang Jianqiang, the Executive Vice Mayor and Deputy Party Secretary of Xi’an, chaired an enlarged meeting of the Xi’an Municipal Government Party Committee. The reason why Ye Niuping could not preside over the meeting was undisclosed.
The “Sing Tao Daily” commented that Ye Niuping’s fate will become clear at the end of the month, after the conclusion of the Fifth Plenary Session. The period of study at the Party School would also come to an end by then.
Public records show that Ye Niuping, born in December 1967 in Taihu, Anhui Province, worked in Guangdong for 30 years. Initially serving in the Guangzhou Military Region’s logistics department engineering construction brigade, he was responsible for real estate development. At the end of 1998, when the military prohibited business activities, the Guangzhou Military Region’s logistics department engineering construction brigade was renamed Guangdong Zhongnan Construction Property Development Corporation, and Ye Niuping successively held positions as Vice General Manager and General Manager of the company.
In 2003, when Guangzhou started the construction of the university city, Ye Niuping entered the construction command headquarters and served as the Deputy Director of the Office. Starting from 2006, he worked in local governments, including Zengcheng, Baiyun District, and the Guangzhou Municipal Government, rising to the position of Deputy Mayor. In 2017, he was transferred to become the Mayor and Party Secretary of Jieyang.
From June 2020 to July 2022, Ye Niuping served as the Secretary-General of the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Director of the General Office, becoming the “chief secretary” and “steward” of the then Governor Ma Xingrui. In December 2021, Ma Xingrui was appointed as the “top leader” of Xinjiang, and half a year later, Ye Niuping was promoted to Deputy Governor of Shaanxi, then as the Deputy Secretary of the Xi’an Municipal Party Committee and Mayor the following year.
It is noteworthy that Ma Xingrui, who was ousted from office on April 3rd this year, and his former secretary general during his tenure in Shenzhen, Guo Yonghang, was also removed from his position as the Deputy Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Political Consultative Conference on March 27th. Gao Shiwen, the Mayor of Nanchang, Jiangxi, had been Ma Xingrui’s secretary for many years during his time at the Aerospace Science and Technology Group. He had consecutively missed important meetings of Nanchang City in February this year. On August 28th, 2026, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress announced the termination of his representative status, confirming his downfall.