Before the Beidaihe Conference, there have been further personnel changes in the CCP’s top leadership. CCP leader Xi Jinping’s confidant and Xinjiang Party Secretary Ma Xingrui has been transferred to another position with his current whereabouts unknown. Chen Xiaojiang, a close associate of former Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary Wang Qishan, has taken over as the new Xinjiang Party Secretary. Rumors of Xi’s waning power have been circulating recently, with scandals of corruption within the military-industrial complex spreading. Analysts say that Ma Xingrui’s transfer is not good news for him at this time.
According to the report by Xinhua News Agency on July 1, Ma Xingrui is no longer holding the positions of Xinjiang Party Secretary, Standing Committee member, and member of the committee. Chen Xiaojiang has been appointed as the Xinjiang Party Secretary, Standing Committee member, and member of the committee.
Earlier, the CCP politburo held a meeting on June 30 to review the “Regulations on the Work of the Central Committee Decision-Making and Coordination Mechanism,” which also mentioned “discussion on other matters,” usually related to high-level personnel adjustments.
This adjustment marks another reshuffle of positions among Central Political Bureau members following the swap of duties between Li Ganjie and Shi Taifeng.
Public records show that 66-year-old Ma Xingrui, a native of Yuncheng, Shandong, has a background in aerospace engineering. He graduated with a Ph.D. in general mechanics from Harbin Institute of Technology in March 1988 and has been known as a typical technocratic official.
Ma Xingrui previously held positions such as Vice Dean and Vice President of the School of Aerospace at Harbin Institute of Technology. He served as Deputy Dean of the China Academy of Aerospace Aerodynamics (CAAA) from 1996, Vice General Manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation from 2007 to 2013, Deputy Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Director of the National Space Administration, and Director of the CCP Defense Industry Bureau from 2013. In 2022, he succeeded Chen Quanguo as the Xinjiang Party Secretary and became a member of the CCP’s Political Bureau at the 20th National Congress.
Ma Xingrui and Xi Jinping’s wife, Peng Liyuan, are from the same hometown in Yuncheng, Shandong, and his career advancement has been linked to the Xi couple. In previous years, Xi promoted a group of officials with military-industrial backgrounds, with Ma Xingrui being one of the most prominent among them.
Researcher Wu Guoguang from the Asia Society, an American think tank, referred to the five high-ranking military-industrial officials promoted by Xi Jinping at the 20th National Congress as the “Gang of Five”: including current Vice Premiers Liu Guozhong and Zhang Guoqing, current Chongqing Party Secretary Yuan Ji…