On May 18th, the official announcement from the Communist Party of China revealed that Tang Renjian, the Party Secretary and Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, is currently under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law” by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. Tang Renjian, a current member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, has been officially ousted, breaking the pattern where previous Central Committee members like Qin Gang, Li Shangfu, and Li Yuchao were dismissed but not publicly announced to have fallen from grace. Tang Renjian, who had previously served as a special envoy for Xi Jinping last year, now faces scrutiny for undisclosed reasons likely related to his tenure in the agricultural and rural systems.
Born in 1962 in Chongqing, Tang Renjian has deep roots in the Chinese rural agricultural system. As early as August 1983, after graduating from university, he entered the then Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, later transitioning through various roles within the agricultural sector at both central and local government levels. He had previously held positions as the Deputy Director and Director of both the Central Finance and Economics Leading Group and the Central Agricultural Office before becoming the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
During his career, Tang Renjian had been transferred to local governments twice, serving as the Executive Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Governor of Gansu Province, but each stint lasted only two to three years. The exact reasons for Tang Renjian’s downfall remain unknown, but it is likely tied to his time within the rural agricultural system.
Over the years, the Communist Party of China has implemented various reforms within its agricultural and rural systems, with frequent restructuring between different departments like the Central Agricultural Office and Central Finance and Economics Leading Group, leading to criticism of chaotic governance. For example, in 2018, Xi Jinping initiated a reorganization led to the separation of the Central Agricultural Office from the Central Finance and Economics Leading Group, establishing it under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs with Han Changfu and Tang Renjian subsequently taking on roles within the office. However, in 2023, the Central Agricultural Office was once again separated from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and combined with the Central Finance and Economics Leading Group, creating a bureaucratic reshuffle.
Similarly, after Xi Jinping declared the achievement of a so-called “miracle of poverty alleviation” in 2021, a National Rural Revitalization Bureau was established by reorganizing the State Council Poverty Alleviation Office, only to be merged back into the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2023, demonstrating the cyclical nature of bureaucratic adjustments.
The Communist Party’s rural system is closely tied to poverty alleviation efforts, and Tang Renjian had also served as the Deputy Leader of the State Council Leading Group for Poverty Alleviation and Development, highlighting the inherent corruption within poverty alleviation work in the Chinese officialdom.
Despite the emphasis placed on agricultural and rural issues within the Chinese Communist Party, as evidenced by the annual issuance of the Central Document No. 1 which predominantly focuses on rural agricultural matters, these endeavors are often seen as political showcases. In February of this year, a study conducted by the China Rural Governance Research Center, authored by Lv Dewen, exposed financial difficulties at the village level, widespread debt increases, instances where villages were unable to pay salaries to their officials, resulting in numerous resignations among village leaders. However, the article was censored.
Every year, a significant amount of funds are allocated by the central government for various agricultural and rural projects, providing ample opportunity for corruption among officials at all levels.
Tang Renjian’s immediate supervising authorities, responsible for the Central Agricultural Office, were Vice Premier Hu Chunhua. Known to be a member of the Youth League faction, Hu Chunhua fell out of favor with Xi Jinping during the 20th Congress and was subsequently relegated to a position as Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Currently, Vice Premier Liu He oversees agricultural matters; however, he does not belong to Xi’s inner circle. The transfer of the Central Agricultural Office under the charge of Xi’s confidant He Lifeng at the Central Finance and Economics Leading Group may suggest underlying power struggles.
Considering Tang Renjian’s intersections with top officials like Hu Chunhua and Liu He (former Director of the Central Finance and Economics Leading Group), reveals a tangled web of relationships. Apart from Hu Chunhua’s fall from grace, Liu He, who was once a key economic advisor to Xi, has also faced recent negative rumors.
As the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, on July 26, 2023, Tang Renjian attended the inauguration ceremony of President Wesley Simina of the Federated States of Micronesia in Palikir in the capacity of a special envoy on behalf of Xi Jinping. Tang Renjian’s downfall raises questions about whether Xi Jinping may have misjudged his trust in him. Regardless, this development is steeped in irony.
An interesting point about Tang Renjian’s fall from grace is that he is the first member of the 20th Central Committee to be publicly announced to have lost his position.
Since Xi Jinping’s third term began, his actions in wielding power have become more arbitrary and unrestrained, lacking in any discernible patterns. While there remains outwardly strong anti-corruption efforts with the announcement of high-ranking officials falling from grace, the reality entails many disappearances, indicating both China’s governance challenges and the arrogance of power. However, it is likely that some individuals have been quietly let off the hook, effectively receiving a form of covert amnesty.
A review of official records shows that in the first five months of this year, 24 mid-level cadres have been officially announced to have fallen from grace within the Communist Party, a figure comparable to the same period last year. This list includes figures like Lou Wenlong, Deputy Head of Agricultural Bank of China, Liu Zhiqiang, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Qin Rupei, former Vice Chairman of the Guangxi Autonomous Region, among others. Notably missing from this list are any Central Committee members.
Since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China, only a few Central Committee members have been definitively implicated in wrongdoing, such as former Foreign Minister Qin Gang, former Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, former Commander of the Rocket Force Li Yuchao, and Reserve Central Committee member Yuan Jie, former Chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. Individuals like former Political Commissar of the Rocket Force Xu Zhongbo, and former Commander of the Strategic Support Force Ju Qiansheng, who have been implicated in rumors, were relieved of their duties but are yet to be officially announced to have fallen from grace.
Just before the dismissal of Tang Renjian, no Central Committee member had been formally announced to have lost their position since the 20th Congress.
The hesitation in announcing the downfall of Central Committee members may stem from concerns about Xi Jinping’s prestige and authority. Following the 20th Congress, it was reported by Xinhua News Agency that both the Central Committee and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection appointments were personally overseen by Xi Jinping, thereby implying his direct involvement in selecting the individuals. Thus, any revelation of their transgressions would directly challenge Xi’s leadership.
However, with Tang Renjian’s public ousting, it seems that the tightly controlled personnel system overseen by Xi within the Communist Party is now showing signs of strain, potentially leading to a cascading effect.
There have been speculations in the public domain about whether the upcoming Third Plenum in July will address the removal of Central Committee members like Qin Gang. Following the official announcement of Tang Renjian’s ousting, it is expected that he will be stripped of his Central Committee status during the Plenum. The simultaneous dismissal of Qin Gang and others from the Central Committee at that time remains to be seen.
This translation and rewrite of the original news article provides an in-depth analysis of the circumstances surrounding Tang Renjian’s downfall within the Chinese political landscape.