New | China’s leadership reshuffle ‘in line with Xi’s plan to promote reformists’
Changes among Chinese senior officials reflect move to make best use of people who are innovative and open to change, according to analysts on the mainland
Personnel changes among senior Chinese officials in the last two months are in line with President Xi Jinping’s call to elevate those who promote reforms, paving the way to a leadership reshuffle ahead of the 19th party congress two years later, analysts say.
At least 33 senior officials at provincial and ministerial level were promoted or transferred to another post since the last annual parliamentary session in March. Almost a third of them were technocrats, academics or doctoral-degree holders.
The position changes must have taken into consideration the personnel layout for the 19th party congress
“The recent position changes among cadres must have taken into consideration the personnel layout for the 19th party congress,” said Profesor Zhu Lijia, a public policy expert at the Chinese Academy of Governance, which trains middle and senior government officials.
“The changes reflect an innovation in personnel selection standards, which was to mainly choose officials who promote reforms,” Zhu said.
Xi last Tuesday voiced his intention to elevate those who supported and helped accelerate reforms. “We should use cadres who want to reform, plan for reforms and are good at reforms,” Xi was quoted as saying.
Zhu said most of the personnel changes over the past two months accorded with Xi’s new standard. In particular, officials who used to be scholars and analysts were favoured as they were generally more innovative and open to reform.
“The exchange of officials among the academic field, political circles and state-owned enterprises has been common in the 60-odd years since the founding of the state, but it was sped up quite a bit recently,” he said.
“An important reason is that China is undergoing a transitional phase of reform and facing complicated developments that require competent officials of high quality.”
One academic-turned-official is former Tsinghua University party chief Hu Heping, who was appointed Shaanxi province’s deputy party chief last month after a stint in Zhejiang province.
Hu, 52, started as an instructor at Tsinghua’s hydraulic engineering department and worked his way up the ranks at the prestigious university. He left to become chief of the Zhejiang provincial party committee’s organisation department in late 2013.
His colleague, former Tsinghua president Chen Jining, was appointed environmental protection minister in January.
Hu’s Tsinghua predecessor, Chen Xi, left to join the education ministry in 2008 and became deputy chief of the central committee’s organisation department in 2013. The department oversees senior officials’ appointments. Chen was Xi’s classmate at Tsinghua’s chemical engineering department during their undergraduate days.
Technocrats were also among those elevated in the recent personnel changes.
Ma Xingrui, 55, former head of the China National Space Administration and the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, was appointed Shenzhen party secretary last month. His predecessor Chen Qiufa, 60, was named Liaoning province’s deputy party secretary this month after two years of chairing Hunan province’s consultative body.
But Renmin University political scientist Zhang Ming said neither an academic nor a technology industry background mattered when it came to officials’ promotions.
“China’s officials can come from any occupation. It’s not their occupational background that matters. The key is their political achievement and whether they belong to any political faction,” Zhang said.
“Former university heads taking up posts at government departments are very common. Such experience does not have any special significance.”
Most of the 33 senior officials recently promoted or transferred are in their 50s. Almost two-thirds were born in the 1960s.
Zhu said officials born in the ’60s had become the majority at provincial and ministerial level as those born in the ’50s were approaching retirement. Provincial- and ministerial-level officials retire at 65 while their deputies retire at 60.
