On October 10, 2025, Hu Haifeng, the son of former CCP leader Hu Jintao and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, attended a press conference along with colleagues including Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan. Hu Haifeng’s prominence in the Chinese media has overshadowed his superiors, leading to speculation of signals related to power struggles ahead of the Fourth Plenary Session.
According to Xinhua News Agency, on October 10, the State Council Information Office of the CCP held a press conference on the theme of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” with Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan, Vice Ministers Li Changguan, Hu Haifeng, and Liu Zhenguo in attendance.
Representing the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Hu Haifeng stated that the ministry had rectified 75,000 “zombie-like” social organizations and cracked down on more than 8,000 illegal organizations.
Earlier, after Vice Minister of the State Security Ministry Gao Yichen was investigated for three months, the “Taihe Think Tank” closely associated with him was shut down by the Ministry of Civil Affairs on September 12. The Taihe Think Tank was closely related to Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, and Gao Yichen, a high-ranking official in the State Security Ministry, Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and the “610 Office,” founded the organization.
Media outlets such as the “Daily Economic News,” “Shanghai Observer News,” and Beijing Daily’s “Chang’an Street Insider” have highlighted Vice Minister Hu Haifeng of the Ministry of Civil Affairs in their headlines.
In the reporting of “Daily Economic News,” both Hu Haifeng and Lu Zhiyuan discussed social organization issues, but the coverage prominently featured Hu Haifeng ahead of Lu Zhiyuan, with their content being comparable. “Chang’an Street Insider” only focused on Hu Haifeng’s content when reporting on the crackdown on over 8,000 illegal social organizations, omitting any mention of Lu Zhiyuan.
Born in 1964, Lu Zhiyuan is a member of the 20th Central Committee.
Commentator Li Linyi noted that Hu Haifeng received more attention from the media during this news event, overshadowing Lu Zhiyuan as his superior due to being Hu Jintao’s son. While abnormal, this also indicates that the influence of factional struggles within the CCP, particularly the Xi faction or Hu faction, has not truly diminished, especially with the delicate power struggles within the party before the Fourth Plenary Session.
The 20th CCP National Congress in October 2022 saw former CCP leader Hu Jintao being publicly taken away by current leader Xi Jinping, sparking international discussion on inner-party struggles. With the retirement of Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, and Hu Chunhua being removed from the Political Bureau, the “Hu faction” led by Hu Jintao was reportedly subjected to Xi Jinping’s repressive measures.
On January 16, 2024, Hu Haifeng, former Party Secretary of Lishui, Zhejiang, who had repeatedly failed to secure promotions, was appointed Vice Minister of Civil Affairs. Recently, he has been making high-profile appearances.
During the Lujiazui Forum on June 18, 2025, in Shanghai, Communist Party Politburo member and Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining, along with officials Wang Jiang, Vice Director of the Central Finance Office responsible for daily work, Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Gong Zheng, Mayor of Shanghai, and Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Hu Haifeng jointly unveiled the “China Capital Market Association.” Among these officials, only Chen Jining held a deputy national-level rank, while Wang Jiang, Wu Qing, and Gong Zheng were at the ministerial level, with Hu Haifeng being a deputy minister.
From July 7 to 9, 2025, the CCP held its tenth “National Support Xinjiang Work Conference” in Hotan, Xinjiang, where Hu Haifeng attended.
On September 23, the Turkish Embassy in China announced through its official Weibo, overseas X platform, and Facebook accounts that Ambassador Selçuk Ünal paid a courtesy call to Vice Minister of Civil Affairs Hu Haifeng, exchanging views on bilateral cooperation. The post included photos of Ambassador Ünal visiting Hu’s office and presenting gifts to him.
According to public information, on August 1 of this year, Ünal submitted his credentials to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and assumed his position.
Pundit Tang Jingyuan had previously pointed out in his self-media program that Ünal’s visit to Hu Haifeng seemed unusual because Hu is only the fourth-ranked Vice Minister of Civil Affairs, responsible for social organization management, social assistance, child welfare, and elderly services, with no connection to the field of diplomacy. He believed this was solely due to Hu Haifeng’s identity as Hu Jintao’s son, indicating a direct focus on Hu Jintao.