BEIJING, June 5 (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s right hand man, Cai Qi, has been appointed as head of the elite Central Party School, a move analysts say cements his position as perhaps Xi’s closest ally now entrusted with almost the entire communist party portfolio.
The 70-year old Xi loyalist attended a graduation ceremony at the school as its head publicly for the first time on Friday, according to footage shown on state broadcaster CCTV.
“With this appointment, he combines the Party’s organizational, doctrinal, and administrative functions under one Standing Committee member,” said Jean Christopher Mittelstaedt, professor of modern Chinese studies at the University of Zurich.
“I don’t think there’s a precedent for that,” he said.
Cai, heading the Communist Party Central Committee’s General Office among his other intraparty posts, is Xi’s de facto chief of staff. And as part of the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, he is among the handful of most powerful officials in China.
The Central Party School in Beijing is the premier institution for training senior Chinese officials and shaping party ideology. The two most recent Chinese leaders, Xi Jinping and Hu Jintao, had both served as head of the elite school before ascending to the top leadership position.
With the exception of its disciplinary apparatus, Cai has taken on expansive responsibilities in building and running the party.
Even though Cai is unlikely to become Xi’s successor due to his age, Xi is tying Cai to the future of the party, Mittelstaedt said. “There are no higher stakes and there’s no higher level of trust.”
Cai is replacing Chen Xi, 72, who had already retired from his role as head of the party’s Organization Department in 2023.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Ros Russell and Louise Heavens)
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