The power struggle within the top ranks of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to be exposed. Retired former member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, Li Zhanshu, is being closely watched despite his contributions to Xi Jinping. Many issues have come to light since his retirement, even reaching Xi’s desk. There are reports indicating that Xi won’t directly target top-level leaders, but will “cleanse” the surrounding forces to eliminate threats. Recently ousted Zhang Xiaolian, former propaganda minister of Heilongjiang Province, was said to be affiliated with Li.
On October 21st this year, Zhang Xiaolian, Vice Chairman of the Economic Committee of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former propaganda minister of Heilongjiang Province, was investigated.
Public records show that Zhang Xiaolian previously worked for 12 years in the Beijing Communist Youth League, serving as Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League. He later held positions such as Deputy Secretary, Deputy District Chief, and District Chief of Fangshan District in Beijing. From April 2005, Zhang Xiaolian served as Assistant to the Governor of Heilongjiang Province, Secretary of Mudanjiang, Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Harbin City Committee, member of the Provincial Party Committee, and Minister of Propaganda Department. In November 2018, he held positions such as Deputy Resident Director of the National Committee of Rural and Agriculture of the CPPCC; in January 2023, at less than 59 years of age, Zhang Xiaolian retired.
On October 23rd this year, independent commentator Cai Shenkun revealed in his self-media program that Zhang Xiaolian was a crucial subordinate of Li Zhanshu in Heilongjiang. Various signs indicate that CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary Li Xi is currently “cleansing” individuals associated with Li Zhanshu.
Li Zhanshu, born on August 30, 1950, in Pingshan, Hebei, started his career in his hometown and reportedly had a close relationship with Xi Jinping in his early years. In the 1980s, both worked in the Shijiazhuang area of Hebei Province, with Li serving as the Secretary of Wuji County Party Committee and Xi as the Secretary of Zhengding County Party Committee.
Subsequently, Li Zhanshu rose through the ranks in Hebei to become a member of the Provincial Party Committee. In 1998, he was appointed as a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee, Minister of the Organization Department, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Secretary of the Xi’an City Committee. In 2004, he became Deputy Secretary of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, additionally taking on the role of Governor in 2007. He was appointed as Secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee in 2010. Prior to the 18th National Congress of the CCP in 2012, he served as Vice Director and later Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee. He was promoted to member of the Political Bureau of the CCP at the 18th National Congress, becoming a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau at the 19th National Congress in October 2017, and was appointed Chairman of the National People’s Congress in March of the following year, until his retirement in March 2023.
Li Zhanshu was considered one of Xi Jinping’s most trusted confidants. During his tenure as the Director of the General Office, he often accompanied Xi Jinping on trips and assisted in Xi’s constitutional amendment to eliminate term limits for the national presidency.
During the closing ceremony of the 20th CCP Congress on October 22, 2022, former party leader Hu Jintao attempted to view confidential personnel files related to high-level officials, but Li Zhanshu prevented him from doing so. When Hu turned to review Xi Jinping’s files, Xi immediately ordered him to be escorted away, appearing reluctant to leave.
As per Japanese media reports, Hu Jintao was displeased with the exclusion of his chosen successor Hu Chunhua from the list of candidates, and when he tried to view the list, Li Zhanshu stopped him. The media interpreted Li Zhanshu’s lip movements as saying, “Don’t look, it’s all set.”
Cai Shenkun stated that while Li Zhanshu had made significant contributions to consolidating Xi Jinping’s power, he also understood the precarious nature of his close relationship with Xi. Li Zhanshu was afraid that one day Xi might turn against him, as he did with his political ally, Wang Qishan. It was said that before the 19th National Congress, Li Zhanshu proactively proposed to Xi Jinping that, considering his age of 68, he was contemplating retirement and even if he stayed, he would only hold vice positions in the CPPCC or the National People’s Congress as a preemptive measure to alleviate Xi’s concerns. However, Xi allowed Li Zhanshu to stay on until the age of 73 before retiring.
Cai Shenkun mentioned that although the likelihood of Xi Jinping “cleansing” Li Zhanshu personally after retirement was low, many of Li’s issues became exposed after stepping down, even landing on Xi Jinping’s desk.
As a high-ranking official within the CCP, Li Zhanshu was inevitably embroiled in corruption. Before the 19th National Congress, Li Zhanshu’s daughter, Li Qianxin, was implicated in unfavorable reports by foreign media, alluding to her and her husband’s financial gains.
Cai Shenkun emphasized that Xi Jinping is most wary of the trusted confidants cultivated by top-level leaders, hence his “feather clipping” approach towards Li Yuanchao, Wang Qishan, and Zhao Leji, completely severing their connections with high-ranking officials of the Party and the government. This same tactic is being applied to Li Zhanshu as well, making these political veterans isolated and unable to pose any future threats. However, the top-level leaders themselves are unlikely to face repercussions, but will be closely monitored to cut off their ties with senior officials of the Party and the government.
In fact, over the past two years, several deputy and senior-level officials, both active and retired, have shown signs of being removed by Li Xi through “clipping the hem” tactics.
Since assuming the position of member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection at the 20th CCP Congress in 2022, Li Xi has been actively purging individuals promoted by Zhao Leji. This includes many confidential personnel within the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the National Supervisory Commission’s propaganda department, such as Deputy Minister Hao Zongqiang and Deputy Director of the Second Supervisory and Inspection Office, Liu Ran. Additionally, a group of individuals promoted by Zhao Leji after he became the head of the Organization Department, includes a key figure named Luo Yulin, who was a former subordinate of Zhao Leji during his tenure in Qinghai.
Li Zaiyong, former Vice Chairman of the Guizhou Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who was arrested in March last year, was a close aide to Chen Min’er, current member of the Political Bureau of the CCP and Secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Committee, during his leadership in Guizhou Province.
Wang Qishan, who previously served as Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection during Xi Jinping’s first term, retired from his position as Vice President of China in March 2023. Several of his former colleagues have been arrested and heavily sentenced in recent years. Financial chief during his tenure at China Construction Bank, and former Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank, Fan Yifei was sentenced to death with a reprieve on October 10th this year; Tian Huiyu, Wang’s former secretary and former President of China Merchants Bank, was sentenced to death with a reprieve for embezzling 500 million RMB; and Dong Hong, another former secretary and former Deputy Director of the Central Inspection Team, was also sentenced to death with a reprieve.
On September 28th this year, Cao Xingxin, Vice General Manager of China Unicom, was investigated. Cao Xingxin was transferred from the Central Organization Department led by Chen Xi to China Unicom early last year. Having long served in the Central Organization Department, he previously held positions such as Secretary and Deputy Director (bureau-level) of the Party Committee of the National Organization Cadre Institute. Some analysis suggests that Cao Xingxin, entrusted with the task of training political cadres nationwide by Chen Xi, was also considered one of Chen Xi’s trusted aides. Chen Xi, who is Xi Jinping’s university classmate, stepped down as Minister of the Central Organization Department in April last year and currently serves as the Director of the Central Party School of the CCP (National Administrative Institute).