The ongoing changes in the political situation in the Chinese Communist Party have been a topic of interest. On the day when CCP leader Xi Jinping visited Xinjiang, the Turkish Ambassador to China released a photo of his meeting with Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Hu Haifeng, which was seen as unusual.
On September 23, the Turkish Embassy in China posted a message on its official Weibo, overseas X platform, and Facebook accounts, stating that Ambassador Selçuk Ünal had a courtesy meeting with Chinese Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Hu Haifeng, where “both sides exchanged views on developing cooperation between the two countries.”
The post included photos of the Turkish Ambassador visiting Hu Haifeng at his office location and presenting him with gifts.
On the same day, the Turkish Embassy also released another photo, indicating that Ambassador Ünal had a courtesy meeting with the President and CEO of the World Knowledge Publishing House, Mr. Cui Chun, at the embassy, where “both sides discussed bilateral relations.”
According to public records, Ambassador Ünal had officially assumed his post on August 1 after submitting a copy of his credentials to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Commentator Tang Jingyuan pointed out in his self-media program that Ambassador Ünal’s visit to Hu Haifeng seemed unusual because Hu Haifeng is just a fourth-ranked Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, responsible for managing social organizations, social assistance, child welfare, elderly care services, etc., with no relevance to the field of diplomacy.
He believed that this visit was directed towards Hu Haifeng’s identity as the son of Hu Jintao. In other words, it was aimed at Hu Jintao.
During the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the CCP, former CCP leader Hu Jintao was publicly escorted out of the venue by current leader Xi Jinping, leading to internal power struggles within the CCP becoming an international topic of discussion.
As the son of Hu Jintao, Hu Haifeng’s career movements have always been closely watched.
On January 16, 2024, after several rumored promotion opportunities fell through, Hu Haifeng, the former Party Secretary of Lishui City in Zhejiang province, was appointed as the Deputy Minister of Civil Affairs.
Recently, Hu Haifeng has been making high-profile appearances. On June 18, 2025, at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, senior CCP officials including Chen Jining, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP and Party Secretary of Shanghai, Wang Jiang, Deputy Director in charge of daily work at the Central Financial Office, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Gong Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai, and Hu Haifeng, Vice Minister of Civil Affairs, jointly unveiled the China Capital Market Association. Among the officials mentioned, Chen Jining is a vice-national level official, while Wang Jiang, Wu Qing, Gong Zheng are all at the ministerial level, with only Hu Haifeng as a deputy ministerial level official.
From July 7 to 9, 2025, the 10th National Conference on Pairing Assistance to Xinjiang was held in Hetian, Xinjiang. Wang Huning, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), attended the meeting, while Li Ganjie, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP and Minister of the United Front Work Department, presided over the conference. The CCTV news broadcast showed Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Hu Haifeng taking part in the meeting.