In a recent update from September 30, 2025, the Communist Party of China has announced a change in leadership in Inner Mongolia, with Wang Weizhong, the former Guangdong provincial governor, taking over as the new secretary, replacing Sun Shaocheng. This transition comes amidst controversy surrounding Wang Weizhong’s previous remarks praising Xi Jinping.
According to official reports from Xinhua News Agency, Wang Weizhong has been appointed as the Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, replacing Sun Shaocheng in this role.
Public records show that Wang Weizhong, born in March 1962 in Shuozhou, Shanxi Province, is a graduate of Tsinghua University’s Department of Hydraulic Engineering. He has previously served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Wang was parachuted into Shanxi in 2014, where he held positions such as member of the Provincial Party Committee and Party Secretary of Taiyuan City. In 2017, he became the Party Secretary of Shenzhen and was appointed as the Governor of Guangdong Province at the end of 2021.
Official sources cited “age reasons” for Sun Shaocheng’s removal from office. Sun, originally from Haiyang, Shandong Province, has reached the retirement age of 65 for officials at the ministerial level.
Reports from Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily suggest that Meng Fanli, the Party Secretary of Shenzhen, is set to be promoted to the position of Governor of Guangdong Province.
Aged 60, Meng Fanli hails from Linyi, Shandong Province, and graduated from Shandong University of Economics. He previously served as the director of the Finance and Accounting Department at the university and held positions including Director of Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce, Mayor of Yantai City, and Party Secretary of Yantai City. In 2017, he became the Mayor of Qingdao, in 2020 took on the role of Party Secretary of Baotou, Inner Mongolia, and by the end of 2021, he was appointed Party Secretary of Shenzhen and concurrently served as Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee.
Wang Weizhong has been known to make pro-Xi Jinping statements on multiple occasions. During the opening ceremony of the 7th Communist Party Congress of Shenzhen in April 2021, he stated, “Under the caring and deep love of General Secretary Xi Jinping and the Party Central Committee, like a towering mountain and vast sea,” among other similar expressions.
Political commentator Li Lin pointed out at the time that Wang Weizhong’s flattering words were likely aimed at seizing promotion opportunities as the Communist Party was approaching leadership changes and the upcoming Party Congress next year.
On May 8, 2018, the front page headline of “Shenzhen Special Zone News” read, “To inscribe President Xi Jinping’s speeches ‘into the bone, integrate into the blood, and put into action,'” sparking controversy.
According to a report from the Hong Kong Apple Daily at the time, that statement was made by the then-Party Secretary of the Communist Party of China in Shenzhen, Wang Weizhong, during a so-called “learning session on the spirit of Xi Jinping’s speeches” on May 6 of the same year. The report also expressed concerns about the revival of a Cultural Revolution-like atmosphere in official circles of the Communist Party.