Politburo member Xie Fei has died at 67, dealing a further blow to the political fortunes of the so-called Guangdong Faction.
Xie had been suffering from leukaemia for more than a year.
The Guangdong native lost his substantial post of party secretary of Guangdong soon after the 15th Party Congress in 1997. In early 1998, he became a vice-chairman of the National People's Congress.
Before he became seriously ill, he was briefly in charge of preparations for the Macau handover.
Guangdong officials said Xie's departure from the rich province was the first sign that President Jiang Zemin, the head of the so-called Shanghai Faction, had taken steps to crack down on the Guangdong Faction.
A Jiang protege, Li Changchun, took Xie's place as party boss of Guangdong in early 1998, after which a number of local cadres were removed for reasons including economic crimes.
Xie was at one time rumoured to have been investigated over the business dealings of his associates.