In breaking news from January 14, 2025, Hu Chunhua, the designated successor by proxy of Hu Jintao, has been squeezed out of the Political Bureau at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. His old associates have also been falling from grace in quick succession. Former CCP official Du Wen stated that Xi Jinping had been targeting Hu Chunhua all along, with Hu Jintao rigidly protecting him.
Du Wen revealed in a recent episode of a self-media program on January 13, 2025, that based on information he obtained from inside official CCP sources, “If it weren’t for Hu Jintao rigidly protecting Hu Chunhua, he would have been eating prison food in Qin Cheng a long time ago. Of course, as long as Hu Jintao is still around, Xi Jinping has not been able to completely move against Hu Chunhua, only marginalize him as much as possible.”
On October 22, 2022, at the closing ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the CCP, former Party leader Hu Jintao attempted to flip through the red-head files related to high-level personnel changes, but was held down by his sidekick Li Zhanshu; when Hu tried to look at Xi Jinping’s red-head files, Xi firmly pressed him down. Xi Jinping then ordered for Hu to be removed, a move that Hu Jintao appeared highly reluctant about.
This scene, captured by international media cameras, caused a sensation. During this meeting, two members of the Political Bureau Standing Committee, Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, stepped down and retired the following year. Hu Chunhua, who was expected to become a standing member, was also kicked out of the Political Bureau and appointed Vice Chairman of the CPPCC in 2023.
Subsequent reports from Japanese media revealed that at that time, Hu Jintao was unhappy that the designated successor by proxy, Hu Chunhua, had been expelled from the list, and when he tried to look at the list, Li Zhanshu restrained him. The media interpreted Li Zhanshu’s lip movement as “Don’t look, it’s all settled.”
In the past two years, several high-ranking officials have fallen from grace, allegedly linked to Hu Chunhua. Last year, former Vice Chairman of the Inner Mongolia People’s Congress Du Zi and Wang Bo were investigated successively. On January 9 of this year, the former Deputy Secretary of the Xinjiang Party Committee, Li Pengxin, stood trial, accused of accepting bribes totaling up to 822 million Chinese yuan.
Du Wen previously analyzed that Li Pengxin’s career trajectory from Qinghai to Inner Mongolia and then to Xinjiang closely mirrored the time and location of Hu Chunhua’s key positions. Combined with other former “close aides” of Hu Chunhua such as Wang Bo and Du Zi also falling from grace. This series of actions undoubtedly reflects a clear signal: Xi Jinping is intensifying the “net” against Hu Chunhua’s influence.
Recently, many people are still studying various intricacies of the officialdom, believing that Hu Chunhua may stage a comeback. Du Wen posted on X platform on January 10, saying, “Xi Jinping has long since set up a layout against Hu Chunhua.” He stated, “In recent years, although Hu Chunhua slipped from being a potential hot candidate for the Central Political Bureau Standing Committee to Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, his political influence and local connections remain strong. Will the anti-corruption storm serve as another lever to weaken the power of Hu Chunhua’s faction?”
Du Wen believes that the case of Li Pengxin exposes the deep-rooted corruption within the CCP, as well as the intense game in the process of centralizing power. “What will be Xi Jinping’s next move? How will Hu Chunhua and his remaining forces respond? This storm may just be getting started.”
In addition, former Secretary of the Tibet CCP Committee Wu Yingjie fell from grace in June 2024. Wu Yingjie had worked in Tibet for more than forty years. During the time when Hu Chunhua was serving as Secretary of Tibet and Deputy Chairman of Tibet, Wu Yingjie was a member of the Tibet CCP Committee and Minister of the Propaganda Department, directly subordinate to Hu Chunhua.