The 3rd Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concluded yesterday. Official media footage showed Hu Chunhua, who was demoted after the 20th CCP National Congress, sitting in the same row as Xi Jinping during a subgroup meeting, sparking speculation.
According to CCTV footage, Hu Chunhua, who is said to be a protégé of former CCP leader Hu Jintao, sat side by side with current CCP leader Xi Jinping at a subgroup meeting during the 3rd Plenary Session.
Exiled former Inner Mongolian official Du Wen posted online, “During the 3rd Plenary Session, Xi Jinping had Hu Chunhua sit beside him, which carries profound meaning!”
Du Wen, who used to be the Executive Director of the Legal Advisers Office of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region government and served as the legal adviser to Hu Chunhua when he was in charge of Inner Mongolia.
Hu Chunhua currently holds the position of the 2nd Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and is a member of the 20th Central Committee.
Hu Chunhua has long been rumored to be a leader of the Communist Youth League faction and the designated heir of former CCP leader Hu Jintao. Prior to the 19th CCP National Congress, Hu Chunhua was a hot candidate for being promoted to the Standing Committee. However, unexpectedly, Sun Zhengcai, who was also considered a successor, fell from grace, and Hu Chunhua failed to enter the Standing Committee. He only retained his position as a member of the Political Bureau and served as the Vice Premier of the State Council in charge of poverty alleviation.
Before the 20th CCP National Congress, Hu Chunhua was once again seen as a frontrunner to enter the highest echelon of the CCP’s political bureau, with the possibility of succeeding Li Keqiang as the Premier. However, at the 20th National Congress, Xi Jinping’s allies gained full control, and members of the Communist Youth League faction such as Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, and Hu Chunhua were all sidelined, with Hu Chunhua retaining only his position as a Central Committee member. The leader of the Communist Youth League faction, Hu Jintao, was forcibly removed from the venue on the closing day of the Congress, drawing international media attention to the infighting within the CCP.
After Hu Jintao was taken away, when Xi took a group photo with the delegates at the 20th National Congress, Hu Chunhua applauded and smiled at Xi. Following the Congress, Hu Chunhua has publicly expressed loyalty to Xi on multiple occasions in his speeches.
At the CCP’s Two Sessions in March last year, Hu Chunhua stepped down as Vice Premier and assumed the position of the 2nd Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, also serving as the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee. The CPPCC has traditionally been viewed as a ceremonial position in the government, categorized as a “secondary role.”
At the end of last year, Hu Chunhua, as a special envoy representing President Xi Jinping, was invited to Madagascar to attend the inauguration ceremony of the President-elect Andry Rajoelina.
However, Hu Chunhua’s former associates continue to be arrested recently, leading to speculation about his precarious position.
Li Jia, who served as Hu Chunhua’s deputy in Inner Mongolia and later became the Chairman of the Shanxi CPPCC, was removed from office and demoted in August 2022 before the 20th CCP National Congress.
On June 3 of this year, Wang Bo, former Deputy Director of the Inner Mongolia People’s Congress Standing Committee and a close confidant of Hu Chunhua, was investigated. Former CCP official Du Wen disclosed that many high-ranking officials who have fallen from grace in Inner Mongolia in recent years have ties to Hu Chunhua.