Why the new party academy role held by Xi Jinping’s chief of staff is important in China

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China’s president describes party schools as crucial for helping uphold ideological direction in the face of ‘hostile forces’

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Cai Qi, 70, will head China’s Central Party School. He sits on the Politburo Standing Committee and is secretary of the party’s secretariat and director of the party’s general office. Photo: Reuters

Jun Mai

Published: 9:00am, 10 Jun 2026

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s chief of staff Cai Qi, the fifth most senior official in the ruling Communist Party, was chosen to lead the Central Party School, Beijing’s leading academy for cadres.

The Central Party School is not just any training site for Chinese officials, but part of a nationwide system that Xi considers key to the ideological purity of the party and important for the expertise needed by senior officials across the country.

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Who were previous heads?

In the past 30 years, the director of the institute has been reserved for either the party’s top leader-in-waiting, to familiarise them with ideology work, or a chief ideologue in the party’s leadership. Both Xi and his predecessor, Hu Jintao, served as head of the Central Party School while heir apparent in the party.

Hu was head of the school between 1993 and 2002, while Xi held the position from 2007 to 2012.

Zeng Qinghong, former vice-president of China and a top official in charge of party affairs, was president of the Central Party School between Hu and Xi’s terms while also serving as a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.

Liu Yunshan succeeded Xi at the school, leading it until 2017 while serving as the party’s top ideology official.

Why the new party academy role held by Xi Jinping’s chief of staff is important in China

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}China’s president describes party schools as crucial for helping uphold ideological direction in the face of ‘hostile forces’

Who were previous heads?

China’s president describes party schools as crucial for helping uphold ideological direction in the face of ‘hostile forces’