The former Secretary of the Xinjiang Communist Party Committee, Ma Xingrui, was unexpectedly removed from office on July 1st, with official reports stating that he is “reassigned.” Ma Xingrui’s future is now subject to speculation. There are reports indicating that the case involving Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin has broad implications, and Ma Xingrui, who previously worked in Guangdong, is also included in the list provided by Xu Jiayin.
After Ma Xingrui was dismissed, some opinions suggest that he may have encountered problems or was influenced by corruption cases within the aerospace technology group he originally worked for. Others point to his possible involvement in corruption within the Xinjiang government.
However, independent commentator Du Zheng stated in an article published by Taiwan media “Up Media” on July 27th that according to sources in the Guangzhou official circles, the root of Ma Xingrui’s issue lies in Guangdong. It is rumored locally that after Evergrande boss Xu Jiayin lost his freedom, he provided authorities with a long list of high-ranking officials, including Ma Xingrui.
Du Zheng believes that the connections between various officials who have fallen from grace in recent years, such as former Guizhou Provincial Party Secretary Sun Zhigang, former Minister of Justice Tang Yijun, former Hubei Provincial Party Secretary Jiang Chaoliang, and now Ma Xingrui, can be traced back to Xu Jiayin.
In September 2023, Xu Jiayin was taken away by the police for “residential surveillance at a designated location.” Subsequently, Tang Yijun, who previously served as the Governor of Liaoning and Minister of Justice, was investigated while serving as the Chairman of the Jiangxi Political Consultative Conference in April 2024.
On September 2, 2024, Sina Weibo published an article titled “Governors and Provincial Party Secretaries Involved in Xu Jiayin’s Case Have Been Arrested!” which not only mentioned Sun Zhigang and Xu Jiayin’s collusion but also highlighted Tang Yijun’s connection with Xu Jiayin.
In February 2025, Sina Weibo published an article on “Xu Jiayin Revealing the Masterminds Behind the Scenes, Leading to the Toppling of Many High-ranking Officials, Finally Revealing the Biggest Umbrella of Protection!” mentioning that after the crisis erupted, Xu Jiayin had to reveal his supporters, including former Chairman of the Bank of China Liu Liange, former Guizhou Provincial Party Secretary Sun Zhigang, and former Chairman of Everbright Group Li Xiaopeng.
Both Sun Zhigang and Liu Liange were announced to be under investigation in March 2023, while Li Xiaopeng, Chairman of Everbright Bank, was investigated on April 5, 2023.
On February 21, 2025, former Hubei Provincial Party Secretary Jiang Chaoliang was announced to be under investigation. On February 25, 2025, Sina Weibo published an article titled “Three Meetings between Jiang Chaoliang and Xu Jiayin!” stating that since Jiang Chaoliang took office in Hubei in 2016, he had annual cooperation discussions with Xu Jiayin until his dismissal in 2020.
Du Zheng believes that the decisions made by the Chinese authorities regarding who to target and how to handle them have undergone various struggles and compromises. Under the strict political censorship in China, the media is likely “instructed” to expose Xu Jiayin’s backers. It is possible that the downfall of individuals like Sun Zhigang, Liu Liange, and Li Xiaopeng following Xu Jiayin’s case indicates that the authorities had received information, targeting these individuals first and then having Xu Jiayin provide evidence against them. Xu Jiayin, in order to save himself, would have disclosed not just a few individuals like Sun Zhigang but a series of names, potentially including Jiang Chaoliang, who fell from power after Xu Jiayin’s downfall.
Regarding Ma Xingrui’s inclusion in the list provided by Xu Jiayin, Du Zheng quoted official sources saying that Xu Jiayin’s connection to Ma Xingrui is also linked to internal power struggles in Guangdong.
In the article, Du Zheng mentions that Evergrande originated in Guangzhou, but tensions arose between Xu Jiayin and Ren Xuefeng, the Secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Party Committee since 2014. It is said that Ren Xuefeng was not fond of Xu Jiayin’s character. After Ma Xingrui was transferred to Shenzhen, Xu Jiayin approached him in 2015, following which Evergrande quietly relocated its headquarters from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, greatly infuriating Ren Xuefeng upon learning about it. Later, Ma Xingrui became the governor, and Ren Zhifeng was transferred to Chongqing and eventually met a tragic end (officially announced as death due to illness, rumored to be suicide).
On June 11, 2019, the Guangzhou city government signed an agreement with Evergrande Group to heavily invest in the new energy automotive industry. In the same month, Tang Yijun, then Governor of Liaoning, stood alongside the Shenyang city government as they signed an agreement with Evergrande Group to invest 120 billion in Shenyang to build new energy vehicle bases and other projects.
Du Zheng suggests that Ma Xingrui from Guangdong and Tang Yijun from Liaoning became the “two valuable individuals” in Xu Jiayin’s car manufacturing operations.
According to publicly available information, the long list provided by Xu Jiayin likely includes at least the current Minister of State Security Chen Yixin and the Secretary of Tianjin Chen Min’er. Chen Yixin, who spent a year and two months as Secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee, invited Xu Jiayin to visit Wuhan at least twice.
The mainland media reported that in Evergrande’s Shenzhen headquarters building, there is a mysterious 42nd floor where only “young ladies” are seen coming and going. Xu Jiayin also maintained a troupe of beautiful women singers and dancers. Those involved with Xu Jiayin in politics and business are all suspected to have fallen victim to Xu Jiayin’s influence to varying degrees. Evergrande’s branches across regions have essentially functioned as “hunting grounds” targeting officials for many years.
In conclusion, the Xu Jiayin case has become a “Molotov cocktail” in the Chinese officialdom. If there are more surprising individuals who face a downfall or demotion in the future, these events are likely to be linked to Xu Jiayin, but the authorities may choose to remain silent on the matter.
Previously, concerning Ma Xingrui’s future after his dismissal, many overseas observers believe it may not be favorable, and he could potentially be reassigned to a less significant position like former Xinjiang secretaries Zhang Chunxian and Chen Quanguo. However, Hong Kong media analysis has suggested that Ma Xingrui might also be redeployed to a new important leadership role.