During the recent visit of Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping to Europe, Kong Shaoxun, deputy director of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, accompanied him. According to Du Wen, a former official within the Chinese Communist Party system, Kong Shaoxun is believed to have been close to former director of the General Office, Ling Jihua, but it is unknown whether he had ever betrayed Ling Jihua.
From May 5th to 10th, Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping visited France, Serbia, and Hungary in Europe. During this period, independent commentator Cai Shunkun posted a photo on overseas social media showing a group of Chinese Communist Party officials accompanying Xi Jinping, including Cai Qi, Wang Yi, and Kong Shaoxun. Cai Shunkun wrote, “Kong Shaoxun standing behind Cai Qi, and standing in a similar position to Wang Yi, indicates that Kong Shaoxun is now being highly regarded by Xi Jinping.”
Following Cai Shunkun’s post, Kong Shaoxun’s background immediately sparked heated discussions.
At the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Kong Shaoxun was among those who helped remove Hu Jintao from the venue. According to circulating videos, on the last day of the 20th National Congress on October 22, 2022, two staff approached Hu Jintao’s table and tried to pull him up from his chair. Hu Jintao showed resistance and said a few words to Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang. Xi nodded expressionlessly, and then a staff member quickly led Hu Jintao out of the venue by holding his right arm. Dake Kang, a reporter for the Associated Press stationed in Beijing, described in a tweet that one of the two people taking Hu Jintao away had a work badge with the name “Kong Shaoxun” on it.
Kong Shaoxun is the deputy director of the General Office, with his superior being the then director of the General Office, Ding Xexiang. Ding Xexiang later became one of the new Central Committee members at the subsequent 20th National Congress.
On May 10th this year, former Chinese Communist Party official Du Wen stated on his YouTube channel that Kong Shaoxun is from Ningxia, and many believe he was promoted by Ding Xexiang. However, Du Wen revealed that Kong Shaoxun was actually recommended by Ling Jihua. In 2010, Ling Jihua, the then director of the General Office, selected and promoted Kong to the Central Committee office, with the approval of then Chinese Communist Party leader Hu Jintao.
Official records show that Kong Shaoxun was born in February 1969 in Ningxia. He previously worked in the Party Committee Office in his hometown of Ningxia and briefly served as the Deputy Mayor of Wu Zhong City, Ningxia in 2009. The following year, he was transferred to the General Office and held positions such as Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the General Office and Director of the Personnel Department. In December 2009, Kong participated in the preparations for the Shanghai World Expo, where Ding Xexiang, the then member of the Standing Committee and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, was in charge. In December 2010, Kong was transferred to the Central Office of the Central Committee. On April 14, 2022, he made his first appearance as the Deputy Director of the General Office and Director of the Secretariat.
Independent commentator Cai Shunkun also expressed on social media that Kong Shaoxun was allegedly a classmate of Ding Xexiang at the Central Party School. While Ding Xexiang served as Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, he transferred Kong Shaoxun from Wu Zhong, Ningxia to Shanghai to participate in the World Expo preparations. This cross-provincial transfer seemingly required the approval of the Organization Department, and it is implausible without Ling Jihua’s consent as he was the Director of the General Office at the time.
Following the downfall of Ling Jihua, the so-called “chief of the imperial household under Hu Jintao” and former Director of the General Office, in December 2014, he was classified by Xi Jinping’s administration as an ambitious figure. During this period, under the direction of Xi Jinping’s confidant and then Director of the General Office, Li Zhanshu, there was a purge within the General Office, and a large number of Ling Jihua’s former associates were affected. Successive heads of the Secretariat bureau of the General Office, Wang Zhongtian and Huo Ke, were subsequently purged.
Du Wen described Kong Shaoxun as a typical technocratic bureaucrat, indicating that he is detail-oriented and meticulous in his work. Given Kong Shaoxun’s character and traits, “he is well-suited for the environment at the General Office and likely feels at home there, but he must also tread carefully.”
Du Wen further stated that after being transferred to the Central Office of the Central Committee, Kong Shaoxun’s main task was to serve Xi Jinping.
“It is said that he never takes his eyes off Xi Jinping, understanding every aspect of Xi’s life, every detail. When Xi calls someone, there is no need to look up – a simple gesture or even a glance, and he can respond immediately.”