The Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has just concluded, and Jū Wěi, the Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Emergency Management Department, has been placed under investigation. Jū Wěi was a former subordinate who was promoted and trusted by Ma Xingrui, a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party, who has long served in the Aksu region of Xinjiang. Prior to the Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Gāo Yàn, Deputy Director of the Aksu Regional Working Committee, was also placed under investigation.
Aksu region is an important mineral and energy base as well as an economic hub in Xinjiang. Ma Xingrui, serving as the Party Secretary of Xinjiang for three and a half years, visited the Aksu region more than ten times, interacting closely with officials and business communities in Aksu. Following Ma Xingrui’s dismissal, a series of officials in the Aksu region have been investigated.
On January 16, 2026, the official website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection reported, based on information from the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, that Jū Wěi, the Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Emergency Management Department, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and is under investigation.
Jū Wěi was a former subordinate promoted by Ma Xingrui during his tenure as the Party Secretary of Xinjiang.
Ma Xingrui took over as the Party Secretary of the CCP Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in late December 2021, also serving as the First Political Commissar of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and the First Secretary of the Corps Party Committee.
Subsequently, in March 2023, Jū Wěi was promoted from Deputy Secretary and Director of the Party Committee of the Emergency Management Department of Xinjiang Autonomous Region to the Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Emergency Management Department; concurrently serving as the First Political Commissar of the Xinjiang Fire and Rescue Corps.
The Fifth Plenary Session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party opened on January 12, 2026, with Politburo member Ma Xingrui absent. On January 8, 2026, just before the start of the Fifth Plenary Session, Li Xu, a former subordinate of Ma Xingrui and the Deputy Commander of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, was also placed under investigation.
After Ma Xingrui was removed from the position of Party Secretary of Xinjiang in July 2025, rumors about his involvement continued to circulate. Over the past two months, Ma Xingrui has been absent from several key meetings at the top levels of the Chinese Communist Party.
Jū Wěi, who has just been investigated, is of Han ethnicity, born in August 1966 in Qian County, Shaanxi Province. He has served in the political and legal system in the Aksu region of Xinjiang for a long time, holding various positions in the Aksu National Security Bureau, Aksu City Public Security Bureau, and Aksu Regional Public Security Bureau, including positions such as member of the Aksu City Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, Party Secretary, and Director of the Public Security Bureau, among others.
Jū Wěi later served as a member of the Hotan Prefecture Working Committee, Party Secretary, and Director of the Public Security Bureau, Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee in Hotan Prefecture, Deputy Secretary of Kashgar Prefecture, and Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture.
One week before Jū Wěi’s investigation, on January 9, 2026, Gāo Yàn, a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Aksu Regional Working Committee of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Chairman of the Regional Federation of Industry and Commerce, was also placed under investigation.
Gāo Yàn has had a long history of serving in the Aksu region, having held positions such as Deputy County Mayor of Wensu County, Party Secretary of Keping County, and Deputy Commissioner of the Aksu Regional Administrative Office.
After Ma Xingrui’s dismissal, in mid-July 2025, the First Inspection Team of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party visited Xinjiang for two and a half months; during the inspection period, more than ten officials in Xinjiang were investigated.
Among them, Zhang Xiaoming, Deputy Secretary-General and Second-level Inspector of the Aksu Regional Committee, was investigated on July 18, 2025. Zhang Xiaoming had previously served as the Party Secretary of Awat County in the Aksu Region.
Other officials who were investigated included He Jianqiang, Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Public Resources Trading Center, He Yonghui, Secretary of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Health Commission of the Autonomous Region, Yao Xiaoqin, former Mayor of Tumxuk City, among others.
He Jianqiang, Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Public Resource Trading Center, was placed under investigation on August 27, 2025. He Jianqiang had long served in the Aksu region and had held positions such as member of the Aksu Committee, and Party Secretary of the Aksu City Committee.
Prior to that, Yang Donglu, former Deputy Commissioner of Aksu Regional Office, was investigated on June 5, 2025. Yang Donglu had long served as the Director of the Aksu Regional Finance Bureau.
Additionally, Dou Wanggui, Deputy Chairman of the Xinjiang Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was put on trial on April 18, 2025, charged with accepting bribes totaling over 229 million yuan. Dou Wanggui was investigated on March 20, 2024.
Dou Wanggui had served as a member of the Aksu Regional Committee, Minister of the Organization Department, Deputy Secretary, and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of the Regional Committee from 2009 to 2013, then as Secretary of the Aksu Regional Committee until April 2022, overseeing the Aksu region for nine years, followed by over six years as Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang CPPCC.
After Dou Wanggui’s investigation, Xiao Lin, a Second-level Inspector of the Aksu Regional Committee of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang People’s Congress, was investigated on August 2024; and Aierjiang Awut, former member of the Party Group and Deputy Director of the Aksu Regional Working Committee of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang People’s Congress, was also placed under investigation in September 2024. Both individuals had long served in the Aksu region.
The above officials who were investigated in the Aksu region had a long-standing connection in the officialdom of Aksu, with many being subordinates of Ma Xingrui during his leadership in Xinjiang. For instance, during Ma Xingrui’s tenure in Xinjiang, Dou Wanggui was promoted from the Secretary of the Aksu Regional Committee to Vice Chairman of the Xinjiang CPPCC, advancing to the level of deputy provincial; He Jianqiang was promoted from the Secretary of the Aksu City Committee to the Deputy Director of the Xinjiang Public Resources Trading Center; Zhang Xiaoming was promoted from the Secretary of Awat County to Deputy Secretary-General of the Aksu Regional Committee.
Public reports indicate that from December 2021 until May 2025, during Ma Xingrui’s three and a half years as the Party Secretary of Xinjiang, he visited the Aksu region more than ten times to investigate industries such as oil and gas fields, cotton spinning, coal, and minerals. On multiple occasions, he echoed Xi Jinping’s slogan about “the breadbasket of energy must be held in our own hands,” emphasizing the need to intensify exploration and development of oil and gas resources.
During Ma Xingrui’s visits to the Aksu region in January and April 2022, then Aksu Regional Committee Secretary Dou Wanggui accompanied him.
The Aksu region, situated in the central southern part of Southern Xinjiang, boasts abundant water resources in Xinjiang and is one of the region’s important cotton-producing areas. Aksu City and Uqturpan County in the Aksu region are known for their beauty as the “Jiangnan outside the Great Wall,” while Shaya County is referred to as the “home of poplar trees in Xinjiang.”
The Aksu region is located at the convergence of Central Asia, the Tarim River, and Kunlun Mountains, constituting a major mineral-rich area with 84 discovered mineral resources (accounting for 54.9% of Xinjiang’s total), including leading reserves in coal, gold, copper, lead, zinc, and other minerals. With a rich variety of non-metallic mineral resources, 34 mineral resources have identified reserves, with a potential economic value exceeding 2 trillion yuan, making it a significant energy resource base in Xinjiang.
Aksu region serves as the main battlefield for Tarim oil and gas development and the primary gas source for the West-East Gas Pipeline Project, holding over 80% of the proven oil reserves and over 90% of natural gas reserves in the Tarim Basin; 96% of the gas source for the West-East Gas Pipeline Project is within the territory of the Aksu region. Aksu’s coal reserves account for over 90% of the proven reserves in southern Xinjiang.
It is worth mentioning that in the official report on the charges against Ma Xingrui’s former subordinate Dou Wanggui, it includes allegations of using his position for personal gain in mineral resource development and project contracting, as well as illegally accepting substantial bribes.
Ma Xingrui, a fellow Shandong native of Xi Jinping’s wife Peng Liyuan, was promoted and trusted by Xi Jinping after he came to power, steadily rising in rank. Following his unusual dismissal, reasons behind the incident have been speculated, including his involvement during his time in the military-industrial complex and corruption issues during his tenure in Guangdong and Xinjiang.