Cai Qi concurrently served as Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and State Organ Working Committee
According to the information released on April 4 on the Party Construction Portal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and state organs, Cai Qi has concurrently served as secretary of the working committees of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and state organs, and Guo Wenqi has been appointed as the deputy secretary of the working committees of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and state organs in charge of daily work.
Cai Qi is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, ranking fifth. He has served as the secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and concurrently serves as the director of the General Office of the Central Committee (commonly known as the chief executive of Zhongnanhai).
According to public information, Cai Qi is 67 years old and is from Youxi, Fujian. He graduated from the School of Economics and Law of Fujian Normal University with a major in Political Economics.
Cai Qi’s political experience began in Fujian, where he served as deputy director of the General Office of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, deputy secretary, deputy mayor, and mayor of the Sanming Municipal Committee of the CPC Fujian Province. Later, he was transferred to Zhejiang, where he served as mayor of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, member of the Standing Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, head of the Organization Department, and vice-governor. In 2014, he “entered Beijing” and served as the deputy director of the Office of the National Security Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
At the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Cai Qi did not join the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and became a “double non” provincial and ministerial official who was neither a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China nor an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. In 2016, Cai Qi was successively appointed as deputy secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, deputy mayor, and acting mayor.
On October 23 last year (2022), the First Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee elected a new member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Cai Qi, who was “joined as a permanent member” and served as the first secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
Cai Qi’s admission to the Standing Committee at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last year has already surprised many experts on China issues, but this seems to be just an “appetizer” of the accident, and more surprises appeared in the subsequent arrangements.
Ming Pao commented on March 28 that there were many “exceptions” in personnel affairs at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, but the biggest exception was that Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, also served as the director of the Central Office. This arrangement has far-reaching consequences.
The Central Office is mainly responsible for the daily secretarial, confidential, administrative, security and other work of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The director of the Central Office is also called the “General Manager” of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, because he mainly serves and guarantees the work of the General Secretary, and he has to accompany the General Secretary on inspections , Visit.
The Ming Pao article believes that the reason for this extraordinary arrangement may be related to the further promotion of Xi Jinping’s status at the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The so-called “two establishments” are to establish Xi’s core position in the entire party and the theoretical guiding position of Xi’s thought. After Cai Qi took over the office, although Xi Jinping did not have the name of the party chairman, he has the reality of the party chairman.
British BBC Chinese observed a few days ago that Li Qiang, the new No. 2 figure in the Communist Party of China, has been trying to boost the confidence of private enterprises since he took office for more than 20 days, promising reform and opening up to attract more foreign investment.
However, at the same time that Li Qiang made these promises, the CCP authorities arrested employees of American and Japanese companies stationed in China, contradicting Li Qiang’s signal.
Analysts said that when considerations of political security and economic development conflict, political security is a strategic element that the Beijing authorities place more emphasis on.
Voice of America quoted Di Pippo of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank, as reporting that for the top leader of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping, economic development is of course important, but it has taken a backseat to national security and long-term strategy. His top priority is to speed up indigenous technological self-sufficiency while de-risking the financial sector.
Xi Jinping said in a speech on March 13 after being re-elected as the president of the National People’s Congress of the Communist Party of China, “Security is the foundation of development, and stability is the prerequisite for prosperity.”
It can be seen from the above words that security comes before development.
Cai Qi can be regarded as a “dark horse” in the CCP system. From the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, who was neither a member of the Central Committee nor an alternate member of the “Shuangfei” provincial and ministerial officials, until October 23, 2022. , It took only 10 years. Outside observations believe that such a promotion speed is very rare in the political arena of the Chinese Communist Party.
Many observers believe that the reason why Cai Qi was able to become a permanent member unexpectedly is not because of his political achievements, but because of the personal friendship he and Xi Jinping have formed during the 20 years of working together in Fujian and Zhejiang.
Cheng Li, a China expert at the Brookings Institution, said, “Cai Qi was promoted four times in four years, which shows his importance to Xi Jinping.”
Zhang Yang, an assistant professor at the School of International Service at American University in Washington, said, “Cai Qi is not popular as the secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee, but his popularity is no match for his loyalty.”
Katsuji Nakazawa, a leading Nikkei reporter and editorial writer, wrote on March 29 that the high-pressure social policies introduced by Tsai during her stay in Beijing were not welcomed by local citizens. But Mr. Xi, who is notorious for not praising others often, thinks highly of Tsai in public, and their relationship is considered very close.
The situation of Li Qiang, another former secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China who joined the permanent post, is very similar to that of Cai Qi. When he was in charge of Shanghai, he not only failed to see any political achievements, but caused economic damage and public grievances due to improper epidemic prevention and control measures. Since Xi Jinping became the supreme leader of the Communist Party of China, he has been valued and promoted by Xi Jinping. Li Qiang did not make any achievements even when he was in power in Jiangsu and Shanghai, and he lacked work experience in central ministries and commissions. However, after the National People’s Congress meeting in March this year, he succeeded Li Keqiang as the Premier of the State Council of the Communist Party of China and became the second largest in the Communist Party of China after Xi Jinping. figure.
Cai Qi will lead a team of Xi’s trusted aides to oversee security-related issues, Nakazawa said.
Over the years, Xi Jinping has attached great importance to security issues. At the annual meeting of the Communist Party’s National People’s Congress in early March, Xi Jinping repeatedly used the word “security” in a speech.
In CCP politics, “security” also includes “political security,” a new concept that Xi Jinping began to advocate, including public security and national security, which means cracking down on spies who pose a threat to national security.
Currently, Zhongnanhai is establishing a new chain of command, with Xi Jinping at the top, followed by Cai Qi. Any order from Xi would pass through Cai to familiar and trusted cronies.
In Nakaze Keji’s view, Cai Qi and Li Qiang have become Xi Jinping’s right-hand men. Cai Qi is in charge of national security, while Li Qiang is in charge of the economy. Together, they will help Xi Jinping gain ultimate absolute power.
In charge of party affairs, Cai Qi may surpass Li Qiang in power
Xi Jinping has repeatedly repeated this sentence of Mao Zedong, that is, “East, West, North, South, Central, the party, the government, the military and the people, and the party leads everything.”
The reform of the party and government institutions decided at the “two sessions” of the CCP this year has taken a further step in the direction of “the party governing everything.”
On March 16, Xinhua News Agency, the official media of the Communist Party of China, reported that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued a reform plan for the Party and government institutions of the Communist Party of China. The document emphasized the need to “strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee.”
This is another major institutional adjustment of the CCP following the 2018 institutional reform. Its most prominent feature is the integration of the party and the government.
Singapore’s “AsiaNews” commented that the CCP’s new reform will further weaken the importance of the government and the State Council in decision-making, and more of its powers will be transferred to the Party Central Committee.
According to Wikipedia, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Working Committee of State Organs are agencies dispatched by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which are responsible for the party affairs of the party and government agencies of the Communist Party of China.
According to analysts, one of Cai Qi’s part-time jobs is the director of the Central Committee Office, who is in charge of internal affairs and security in Zhongnanhai. As for the party affairs of the party and government organizations, under the current background that the party controls everything, Cai Qi’s real power may surpass Li Qiang to become the de facto No. 2 figure in the CCP.