Security mission in focus with Xi Jinping’s key Communist Party appointments
- China’s president promotes former spy chief, police chief to upper levels of the Communist Party
- Promotions signify that Xi prioritises political stability over economic development, an expert says
Two security officials have been promoted to the upper echelons of the Communist Party in China, appointments that observers say underline Beijing’s growing security concern in the face of tensions with Washington and its allies.
Chen Wenqing, the 62-year-old minister of state security, landed a coveted seat in the 24-member decision-making body, becoming the first Politburo member in decades who has served as a spy chief.
As the only member of the Politburo with a background in state security, Chen, who also secured a seat in the Central Secretariat, which runs day-to-day party affairs, is expected to head the party’s top security body, the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission.
Also in the Central Secretariat, which now has seven members, is China’s police chief, Wang Xiaohong. Over the past two decades, the body has never had more than one official from the security sector, and sometimes none.
The body is led by Cai Qi, the main steward of party affairs, who has also just been promoted to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee.
