In recent days, the infighting among senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials has been shrouded in secrecy. Xi Jinping’s two close allies, Li Xi, the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and Wang Xiaohong, a State Councilor of the CCP, both made a “research” trip to Tianjin, which has raised suspicions. Tianjin is where Chen Min’er, once rumored to be Xi’s successor, is in charge. Analysts suggest that Li Xi and Wang Xiaohong, being Xi’s trusted aides, visiting Tianjin could be related to internal power struggles within the CCP, possibly posing a threat to Chen Min’er.
According to the CCP’s Xinhua News Agency, from October 15th to 16th, Wang Xiaohong, who also serves as the Party Secretary and Minister of the Ministry of Public Security, visited Tianjin in his capacity as a Secretary of the Central Committee and a State Councilor to “research” the situation related to “serving to guarantee high-quality economic development.” He also inspected production operations at various enterprises.
Apart from praising Xi Jinping’s recent speeches at the political bureau meetings, Wang Xiaohong emphasized the need for Tianjin to implement the “decisions and arrangements” from the Central Committee, to “intensify efforts to promote the implementation of a package of incremental policies,” and to “unify thinking and actions with the scientific judgment and decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee.” Only at the end did he make a brief mention related to public security work, saying, “there should be close collaboration and coordination between public security agencies and relevant departments.”
Additionally, Li Xi, a member of the CCP’s Politburo and the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, conducted research in Tianjin from October 14th to 16th, primarily focusing on anti-corruption efforts. He visited companies such as Tianjin Port’s Second Container Terminal, CNOOC Engineering Co., Ltd. Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Branch, as well as the Dahongbao Wetland Nature Reserve, Tianjin University, Tianjin High-tech Innovation Park, and even the red heritage sites of Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao Memorial Hall. Li Xi also hosted a seminar on anti-corruption in Tianjin, with Chen Min’er accompanying him throughout the visit.
Commentator Zhong Yuan expressed concerns about the situation, suggesting that Wang Xiaohong, as the Minister of Public Security, should have been inspecting the public security system in Tianjin. However, this time he visited enterprises, which seemed out of his official scope of duties, especially discussing economic matters.
He believes that recent rumors of Xi Jinping’s dwindling power might have prompted a display of loyalty from Xi’s close ally, Wang Xiaohong, to demonstrate that Xi’s camp is still in control and responsible for economic matters.
Regarding Li Xi’s visit to Tianjin concurrently, Zhong Yuan pointed out that Chen Min’er has been a significant member of Xi’s camp but failed to be promoted to the Politburo at the 20th CCP Congress due to rumors of succession plans, which may have hindered his advancement. With the ongoing rumors of intense competition for Xi Jinping’s successor, it is possible that individuals from Xi’s camp, such as Li Xi, are trying to boost Chen Min’er’s profile to position him as a candidate.
Gong Xiangsheng, Deputy Researcher at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, suggested a targeted approach by both Li Xi and Wang Xiaohong towards Chen Min’er during their visits to Tianjin, potentially applying pressure because these two individuals are considered Xi’s close confidants. Gong believes that if there is a possibility for Chen Min’er to fall from grace, current authorities would need to make personnel arrangements and assess the local economic situation in advance. Given Tianjin’s proximity to Beijing, Chen Min’er is likely facing a challenging situation.
Lai Rongwei, Executive Director of the Taiwan Inspirational Association (TIA), highlighted the existence of various factions within Xi’s camp. He pointed out that Li Qiang and Chen Min’er both belong to the Zhejiang faction, while Cai Qi and Wang Xiaohong are part of the Fujian faction. When Wang Xiaohong speaks in Tianjin, it is essentially a message to Chen Min’er regarding economic policies, with Premier Li Qiang of the State Council being responsible for the economy. Therefore, Wang Xiaohong’s emphasis on economic matters appears to be a strategy to undermine the Zhejiang faction and express dissatisfaction with Tianjin’s economic work, indirectly targeting Chen Min’er.
Lai Rongwei further mentioned that Li Xi’s visit to Tianjin might be viewed as a move to balance power, aligning with Xi Jinping’s style of creating checks and balances among various factions from different backgrounds. Therefore, if Cai Qi of the Fujian faction oversteps, Xi might deploy Li Xi to maintain equilibrium. Since Li Xi is discussing discipline, it could suggest that Chen Min’er, who hails from the Zhejiang faction, might be facing pressure, or that Xi Jinping is unhappy with him.
Chen Min’er, a graduate of a provincial teacher training college with a major in Chinese, started as a theoretical instructor at the Zhejiang Local Party School. He later became the Minister of Propaganda for a grassroots local Party committee and was eventually promoted by then Zhejiang Provincial Party Secretary Zhang Dejiang to the position of President and Party Secretary of the Zhejiang Daily Newspaper Group. Two years later, he became the Minister of the Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department. Before leaving Zhejiang, Zhang Dejiang arranged for Chen Min’er to join the Provincial Standing Committee, where he continued to receive significant responsibilities under Xi Jinping as the Party Secretary of the province.
In July 2017, Xi Jinping reassigned Chen Min’er to replace the recently dismissed “Crown Prince” Sun Zhengcai, taking over Chongqing, which was under the influence of Bo Xilai. In October of the same year, the 57-year-old Chen Min’er entered the CCP’s Political Bureau at the 19th Party Congress, rising to become a deputy national-level leader. Speculations then emerged suggesting that Chen Min’er could be the new “Crown Prince.”
Before the 20th CCP Congress, Chen Min’er was also considered a prominent candidate for the Central Committee but was eventually transferred to Tianjin, leading to a general consensus that his reassignment indicated a loss of influence. Furthermore, the previous senior secretary and former Vice Governor of Guizhou, Li Zaiyong, and several other old subordinates of Chen Min’er raise concerns about further targeted actions against him.