The authority of those close to Chinese President Xi Jinping is expanding to an unprecedented level. It has been confirmed that Cai Qi, a member of the Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee and the party's official No. 5 in rank, will concurrently serve as president of the Central Party School, the top training institute for senior party cadres. Observers say he has seized immense power by simultaneously providing close support to the top leader and overseeing the party's daily operations and ideological education.
Synthesizing reports on the 7th from Xinhua, Reuters, and Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, Standing Committee member Cai Qi attended the second graduation ceremony of the Central Party School's spring semester in Beijing on the 5th as president and awarded diplomas to 531 graduates. Outlets noted that a swift, quiet personnel move had been made recently, pointing out that the former president, former Organization Department head Chen Xi, was still performing presidential duties as recently as the opening ceremony on the 15th of last month. The Central Party School's official website has also updated its top leadership list to Cai Qi.
The Central Party School is the top educational institution that trains senior leaders and key cadres of the Chinese Communist Party and disseminates party ideology. It is not a mere school but serves as a core incubator for reproducing ideology that instills policy language and loyalty suited to the Xi system. In the past, both President Xi and former President Hu Jintao solidified their standing as successors by serving as this school's president before rising to the top leadership. Experts said it is highly unusual for a core member of the Standing Committee, the pinnacle of power, to be appointed to a post that had been held by retired party elders.
Born in 1955, Cai Qi has long been one of Xi's closest aides, working with him since Xi's days in Fujian and Zhejiang. After serving as Beijing mayor and Beijing party secretary, he entered the Politburo Standing Committee, the top leadership body, at the 20th Party Congress in 2022. Although his official protocol rank is fifth after Premier Li Qiang and others, prevailing analysis holds that the power he actually wields and his standing in the party far exceed his rank, placing him as the de facto No. 2 after Xi.
In addition to the Central Party School presidency, Cai already monopolizes key posts within the party. He currently holds concurrent roles as director of the General Office of the Communist Party of China, effectively Xi's chief of staff; secretary of the Secretariat, which oversees the party's daily affairs; and secretary of the Working Committee for Central and State Organs, which supervises party work across central state organs. With his inauguration as party school president, Cai has secured a foundation to fully control core state information, party organization management, and even the line for selecting and training future cadres.
Experts predicted that as the one-man rule within the party becomes more entrenched, efforts to tighten ideological control and seize the reins of state led by Cai will intensify for the time being. Jean-Christian Mittelstaedt, a professor at the University of Zurich, told Reuters on the 5th that "with this appointment, Cai now holds the party's organization, doctrine and administrative functions in his hands," calling it "unprecedented." The move is interpreted to mean that Xi is thoroughly entrusting his governing philosophy and the party's future to Cai, maximizing his trust in and dependence on him.
China's state-run media reported that the graduates studied Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in depth during this training period and focused on the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee. They also emphasized that the students received training to resolutely practice the "two establishments" and the "two safeguards," which set the correct view of political achievements and defend Xi's core status and the party center's authority.