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Cai Qi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In this Chinese name, the family name is Cai.
Cai Qi
蔡奇
Cai during CCP general scretary Xi Jinping's visit to Vietnam in December 2023
Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 March 2023
General SecretaryXi Jinping
Preceded byDing Xuexiang
Party Secretary of Beijing
In office
27 May 2017 – 13 November 2022
DeputyChen Jining
Yin Yong (Mayor)
Preceded byGuo Jinlong
Succeeded byYin Li
Mayor of Beijing
In office
31 October 2016 – 27 May 2017
(Acting until 20 January 2017)
Party SecretaryGuo Jinlong
Preceded byWang Anshun
Succeeded byChen Jining
President of the Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
In office
25 February 2018 – 13 March 2022
IOC PresidentThomas Bach
Preceded byLee Hee-beom
Succeeded byGiovanni Malagò
Chair of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
In office
9 June 2017 – 13 March 2022
Preceded byGuo Jinlong
Succeeded byPosition dissolved
Personal details
Born (1955-12-05) December 5, 1955 (age 69)
Youxi County, Fujian, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party (1975–present)
Children1
Alma materFujian Normal University
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese蔡奇
Simplified Chinese蔡奇
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinCài Qí
Bopomofoㄘㄞㄑㄧ
Wade–GilesTs'ai Ch'i
Tongyong PinyinCai Ci
IPA[tsʰâɪ tɕʰǐ]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationTsai Chi

Cai Qi (Chinese: 蔡奇; pinyin: Cài Qí; born December 5, 1955) is a Chinese politician, who is the current first-ranked secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, fifth-ranking member of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee and the director of the CCP General Office, making him the de facto chief of staff to the CCP General Secretary.[1]

Cai began his career in Fujian province. He has served successively as the mayor of Sanming, the mayor of Quzhou, the mayor of Hangzhou and the CCP committee secretary of Taizhou, Zhejiang. Beginning in 2010 he served as the executive vice governor of Zhejiang Province, and in 2014 was transferred to Beijing to serve as deputy director of the CCP National Security Commission Office (rank equivalent of minister). Between 2017 and 2022, he was the Party Secretary of Beijing. Largely due to Cai's extensive experience working in Zhejiang province, he is believed to be a political ally of CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping.

Early life

[edit]

Cai was born in Youxi County, Fujian province on December 5, 1955.[2] During the latter years of the Cultural Revolution he worked at the Xiyang Commune, Yong'an, Fujian. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in August 1975.[3] Cai attended Fujian Normal University and graduated in 1978 with a degree in political economics.[2][4] Afterwards, he stayed in the university as an official in its CCP committee, working there until 1983.[2][5]

Early local careers

[edit]

Fujian

[edit]

In 1983, he was transferred to the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CCP, working there as a clerk until 1985, then working as a division deputy head between 1985 and 1987, and then working as a mishu at a General Work Department between 1987 and 1991.[2] He worked as the deputy director of the Office of Political Reform between 1991 and 1992, deputy director of the Party Building Department between 1992 and 1993, and deputy director of the Provincial Party General Office between 1993 and 1996. As deputy director of the General Office, he was primarily a personal secretary to then Fujian CCP secretary Chen Guangyi.[2]

Between 1994 and 1997, he pursued a post-graduate degree in economic law at his alma mater via part-time studies.[4] He additionally attended a four-month training program for department and prefecture-level cadres at the CCP Central Party School in 1996.[2] In September 1996 Cai took on his first major role in local government as the deputy CCP secretary, and later in November 1997, mayor of the city of Sanming in Fujian, working there until 1999.[4]

Zhejiang

[edit]

He was transferred to Zhejiang province in May 1999 serving as the deputy CCP committee secretary and Mayor of Quzhou, working there until 2002.[2][4] Cai additionally pursued a doctoral degree in political economics, which he obtained from September 1999 to July 2001 at Fujian Normal University through part-time studies.[4] Between March 2002 and April 2004 Cai served as Quzhou's CCP secretary, the top political office of the city.[4] He engaged with the "Eight-eight Strategy [zh]" of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee and executed the dual initiatives of designating the city as an industrial hub and capitalizing on its developmental advantages, thereby establishing a foundation for advancement in Quzhou.[6][7][8]

In April 2004 Cai became party secretary of Taizhou, Zhejiang; at the time, Xi Jinping was the party secretary of Zhejiang province.[4] In April 2007, Cai was promoted to the position Mayor of Hangzhou, the provincial capital, also serving as deputy CCP Secretary.[4] In July 2008, as Hangzhou mayor, Cai started a scheme to recruit petition liaison officers.[9]

In January 2010, he became a member of the provincial CCP Standing Committee as head of the party's provincial Organization Department.[4] In November 2013, Cai became the Executive Vice Governor of Zhejiang province, where he was the deputy of then Governor of Zhejiang Li Qiang.[10] He made the announcement of his change in jobs on his Tencent Weibo account before the official media's announcement was made.[11]

Beijing

[edit]
Cai at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress in May 2020

In March 2014, Cai was said to have been transferred to Beijing to work as the deputy director of the General Office of the CCP National Security Commission, a newly established body led by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, though no official announcement was made about this appointment.[12] In April 2015, he assumed the position of Executive Deputy Director of the Office of the Central National Security Commission.[13][14]

Party Secretary of Beijing

[edit]

On 31 October 2016, Cai was appointed acting mayor of Beijing,[13] replacing Wang Anshun.[14] In November 2016, he served as the Executive Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.[15] In December 2016, in response to rising house prices, he said the municipal government would "make sure" prices will "not rise" in 2017.[16] On 7 January 2017, Cai announced the creation of a new environmental police, which he said would target target open-air barbecues, garbage incineration and the burning of wood and other biomass. He also set ambitious targets for reducing pollution in the city.[17]

He was formally appointed as mayor by the Beijing Municipal People's Congress on 20 January 2017.[18][19] He was also appointed as the deputy CCP committee secretary of Beijing.[2] In February 2017, he became the head of a leading group in Beijing to ensure that the military stopped providing paid services.[20] In May 2017, Cai was appointed as CCP committee secretary of Beijing. Cai's appointment broke nearly all conventions in post-Cultural Revolution political tradition; he was neither a member nor alternate member of the Central Committee, and took on an office that would, under normal circumstances, be accorded Politburo membership.[21]

In preparation for the 19th CCP National Congress, Cai called for strengthening social controls and cyber security defense, and cracking down on "various political rumors and harmful information" in September 2017.[22] He was appointed to the 19th CCP Politburo immediately after the 19th CCP National Congress in October 2017, becoming one of the few people to be appointed to the Politburo before serving at the CCP Central Committee.[23]

In 2017, early in his tenure, Cai came under controversy due to the forceful eviction of many migrant workers from Beijing.[24] On November 18, 2017, a significant fire incident transpired in a communal rental housing structure in Xihongmen, Beijing, leading to 19 fatalities and 8 injuries.[25][26] Following the incident and the resultant tragic casualties from the fire, Beijing initiated a 40-day special operation on November 20, 2017, aimed at conducting a comprehensive investigation and remediation of potential safety hazards, particularly in group-rented housing identified as having significant fire risks.[27][28][29]

Opening ceremony of the XXIV Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. On the blue field are Cai Qi (left) and Thomas Bach (right).

During his tenure, Cai Qi promoted green development, particularly environmental protection, in Beijing. In 2016, the yearly average PM2.5 concentration in Beijing decreased by 9.9% compared to the previous year, resulting in a total reduction of 23.7% since 2012.[30] He also devoted work to national security issues, especially cybersecurity.[2] In June 2020, Cai was appointed to lead the team charged with the elimination of coronavirus in the Xinfadi market.[31]

As the Beijing Party secretary, Cai was responsible for organizing the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing. In June 2017, he was appointed President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. He gave an opening speech during the opening ceremony of the Olympics,[32] as well as during the closing ceremony.[33] He was awarded the Gold Olympic Order after the Olympics.[34]

Top leadership

[edit]

Following the 1st Plenary Session of the 20th CCP Central Committee, held after the closing day of the 20th Party Congress in October 2022, Cai was appointed to the CCP Politburo Standing Committee as its fifth-ranking member, also becoming the first-ranking secretary of the CCP Secretariat.[35][36] On November 13, 2022, Cai Qi relinquished his position as Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, being succeeded by Yin Li.[37] On December 6, 2022, Cai Qi officiated Jiang Zemin's memorial service at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.[38] On December 11, Jiang Zemin's widow Wang Yeping and other relatives, as well as Cai Qi, slowly scattered Jiang's ashes along with colourful flower petals at the estuary of the Yangtze River.[39]

Cai and Zheng Shanjie with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing during Putin's visit to China in May 2024

In March 2023, he became the director of the CCP General Office, succeeding Ding Xuexiang; this made him the first General Office director that's also member of the Politburo Standing Committee since Wang Dongxing.[40] Cai was revealed as a deputy head of the CCP National Security Commission in May 2023.[41][42] According to the South China Morning Post, Xi appointed Cai to succeed himself as the leader of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission in the first half of 2023. Cai has also frequently accompanied Xi on trips, responsible for arranging his security, schedule and daily affairs.[42]

He spoke at the annual National Publicity Ministers Work Conference (NPMWC) in January 2023, where he called on officials to use core socialist values, improve foreign propaganda work, and uphold Xi Jinping Thought and Two Establishes and Two Upholds.[43] In August, Cai hosted 57 scientists at the “forefront of domestic technology” in Beidaihe.[44] In October, Cai held a National Conference on Propaganda, Ideology, and Cultural Work, where the CCP put forward the Xi Jinping Thought on Culture.[45] At the January 2024 annual NPMWC, Cai called on propaganda officials to "strengthen positive publicity and public opinion" and "sing loudly about China's bright economic prospects".[46] In April 2024, the leading group of Central Leading Group for Party Building held a meeting presided by Cai Qi, which said a Party discipline education campaign within the CCP would be held from April to July 2024.[47] In August 2024, he hosted leading scientists from artificial intelligence, quantum physics, deep-sea exploration and aerospace sectors in Beidaihe.[48]

In January 2025, Cai called on officials to step up promotion of China's economic achievements at the annual NPMWC conference.[49] On February 5, 2025, he chaired a meeting of the central-level special working mechanism aimed at rectifying formalism to alleviate burdens on grassroots entities, underscoring the execution of the Central Committee's Eight-point Regulation and the ongoing efforts to mitigate formalism's impact on grassroots operations.[50]

Public image

[edit]

Cai is known for his extensive use of social media and his unorthodox approach to governance.[51] Cai has referred to Xi as "Xi Dada" (Uncle Xi) and "Boss Xi" in public media.[52] The Economist opined in 2017 as Cai "rocketed up the Communist Party's ranks" that "Xi Jinping has chosen an unusual man to lead the capital city."[53] Cai is said to have been a fan of Kevin Spacey's House of Cards TV serial, and was cited as a fan of the iPhone product.[54]

Cai maintains a Weibo microblog account under the subtitle "Cai Qi, a Bolshevik",[55] which has been active since May 2010.[56] The account was initially opened under the name Qianshui (潜水; literally, "scuba diving"), but he was eventually 'outed' by internet users. The account is 'followed' by over ten million people. He used it regularly to communicate with citizens.[57] As a sub-provincial-level official Cai was one of the highest-ranking officials to maintain a regular social media presence.[58] It is the opinion of certain political scholars that Cai used this Weibo tool to circumvent existing CCP apparatus and thereby gain public profile, "considerable influence" within the CCP and thereby promotion.[58] Cai has stated of the CCP that:[59] He stopped posting on Weibo after his transfer to Beijing in March 2014.[23]

Personal life

[edit]

Before retirement, Cai Qi's wife was a bureau-level official in Zhejiang. The couple have a son, who previously worked as an official at the subdistrict level in Hangzhou and as a staff member at the National Development and Reform Commission.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Zheng, William (28 March 2024). "Xi Jinping's chief of staff is China's new internet tsar, sources say". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Cai Qi 蔡奇" (PDF). Brookings Institution. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ^ "（二十大受权发布）中共二十届中央领导机构成员简历-新华网". Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 蔡奇个人简历 (in Chinese). Hangzhou People's Government. July 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-10-16. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
  5. ^ Joseph, William A. (2024). Politics in China: An Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 978-0-19-768320-0. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
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  7. ^ "浙江政坛变阵 两任杭州市长晋升省委常委". 新浪时尚_新浪网 (in Chinese). 2010-01-22. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  8. ^ China under Xi Jinping: An Interdisciplinary Assessment. BRILL. 4 November 2024. p. 185. ISBN 978-90-04-69108-7. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
  9. ^ Wu, Vivian (28 July 2008). "Scheme for petition liaisons criticised". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  10. ^ "浙江省人大常委会任命蔡奇为省人民政府副省长". 新闻 (in Chinese). 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  11. ^ "蔡奇任浙副省长仅4月即去职 拥有千万微博"粉丝"". 163. March 28, 2014.
  12. ^ "原浙江副省长蔡奇传调任国安委". South China Morning Post (Chinese). March 29, 2014. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
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  15. ^ "蔡奇任北京2022年冬奥会和冬残奥会组织委员会执行主席". 组织人事 --中国共产党新闻网 (in Chinese). 2016-11-22. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
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  17. ^ "Beijing sets up 'environmental police' squad to tackle smog". South China Morning Post. 9 January 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  18. ^ "Cai Qi elected Beijing mayor". China (in Latin). 2017-01-20. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  19. ^ "蔡奇当选北京市长，张硕辅当选北京市监察委主任" [Cai Qi elected as mayor of Beijing, Zhang Shuofu elected as director of the Beijing Municipal Supervisory Committee.]. The Paper. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  20. ^ Mai, Jun (8 February 2017). "Mayor of Beijing is put in charge of military reform group". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  21. ^ "蔡奇任北京市委书记 郭金龙不再兼任(图/简历)". 新华社.
  22. ^ Zhou, Viola (27 September 2017). "Beijing party boss promises to eradicate online political rumours ahead of key Communist congress". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  23. ^ a b Baptista, Eduardo; Pollard, Martin Quin; Pollard, Martin Quin (2022-10-23). "Beijing party chief Cai, Xi loyalist, vaults to top rank". Reuters. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
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  26. ^ Buckley, Chris (2017-11-19). "Fire Kills at Least 19 in Beijing Apartment Building". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  27. ^ "北京市安全隐患大排查大清理大整治全面展开 蔡奇到基层检查". 中国共产党新闻网--人民网 (in Chinese). 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  28. ^ "北京安委会：排查安全隐患没有清除"低端人口"说法_新闻频道_央视网(cctv.com)". 新闻频道_央视网(cctv.com) (in Chinese). 2017-11-26. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  29. ^ "北京21部门今起开展隐患大排查大清理大整治行动". 专项行动_新浪新闻 (in Chinese). 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  30. ^ "北京市长蔡奇：加强区域生态保护迫在眉睫、刻不容缓-新华网". Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  31. ^ Yan, Yan; Li, Yuan (13 June 2020). "蔡奇調度疫情防控工作並赴豐台區西城區現場檢查時要求 果斷處置精准防控 迅速堅決阻斷傳染源". People's Network. cpcnews.cn. Cai Qi dispatched epidemic prevention and control work and went to the on-site inspection in Xicheng District of Fengtai District to require decisive treatment and precise prevention and control, and quickly and resolutely block the source of infection
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  37. ^ "Former Provincial Party Chief Takes Over as Beijing's New Boss". Caixin Global. 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
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  39. ^ "江泽民同志骨灰撒入江海". paper.people.com.cn. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
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  42. ^ a b Tajima, Yukio (8 June 2023). "China's No. 5 official gains favor within Xi's inner circle". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  43. ^ "Cai Qi Leads Propaganda Ministers Conference". China Media Project. 2023-01-05. Retrieved 2024-12-19.
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  45. ^ Zheng, William (9 October 2023). "Will culture be China's most important addition to Xi Jinping Thought?". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  46. ^ Zhuang, Sylvie (4 January 2024). "China's propaganda chiefs told to 'sing loudly about bright economic prospects'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  47. ^ "CPC to implement Party discipline education campaign | english.scio.gov.cn". english.scio.gov.cn. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
  48. ^ Zheng, William (10 August 2024). "China's hi-tech scientists have a moment in the Beidaihe sun at political elite's retreat". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  49. ^ Dang, Yuanyue (6 January 2025). "Play up economic success, China's ideology tsar Cai Qi tells propaganda chiefs". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
  50. ^ "中央层面整治形式主义为基层减负专项工作机制会议在京召开 蔡奇出席并讲话-新华网". Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 2025-02-05. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  51. ^ Eduardo Baptista, Martin Quin Pollard (2022-10-23). "Beijing party chief Cai, Xi loyalist, vaults to top rank". Reuters. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  52. ^ Mai, Jun (2016-03-02). "Inside Xi Jinping's inner circle". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  53. ^ "Xi Jinping has chosen an unusual man to lead the capital city". The Economist. 13 July 2017. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  54. ^ Mai, Jun (28 May 2017). "The rise and rise of Xi Jinping's new man in Beijing". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  55. ^ "QQ Microblog, Cai Qi".
  56. ^ "Meet Cai Qi, long-time online celeb and Beijing's acting mayor". China. 2016-11-01. Retrieved 2025-04-03.
  57. ^ "港媒：大V官員蔡奇料入國安辦 出任專職副主任". Takungpao. March 28, 2014.
  58. ^ a b Wang, Boyong; Wang, Shaoyu (2014). "Social Media Development and Implication on eGovernance in China". In Sonntagbauer, Peter (ed.). Handbook of Research on Advanced ICT Integration for Governance and Policy Modeling. IGI Global. ISBN 9781466662377.
  59. ^ Liu, Wei (1 November 2016). "Meet Cai Qi, long-time online celeb and Beijing's acting mayor". China Daily. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
Party political offices
Preceded by Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party
2022–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by Party Secretary of Beijing
2017–2022 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head of the Organization Department of Zhejiang province
2010–2013 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by President of Organizing Committee for Winter Olympic Games
2022 		Succeeded by
Government offices
Preceded by Mayor of Beijing
2016–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Hangzhou
2007–2010 		Succeeded by
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