[News Figures] 'Chaichi' Rapidly Emerging as China's Second-in-Command?

Chai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, ranks fifth in the power hierarchy within China and is considered a typical member of the Xi Jinping faction (Xi Jinping's close-knit group).

Born in 1955 in Youxi County, Fujian Province, one of the political bases of President Xi Jinping, he graduated from the Department of Political Education at Fujian Normal University in 1978. In 1983, he began working at the Office of the Fujian Provincial Committee, where he established a connection with President Xi. While working in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, he assisted President Xi for over ten years, gaining his trust.

In 2002, Chai Qi moved to Zhejiang Province, where Xi Jinping had grown up, serving as deputy party secretary of Chuzhou City, mayor of Hangzhou City, and vice governor of Zhejiang Province. During Xi's first term in power in 2014, Chai was appointed deputy director of the General Office of the National Security Commission established by President Xi. Subsequently, at the end of 2016, he became acting mayor of Beijing, and in January 2017, he was officially elected mayor. After being appointed party secretary of Beijing in May 2017, he embarked on a rapid promotion path. In October of the same year, he entered the 25-member Political Bureau at the 19th Party Congress, and at last year's 20th Party Congress, he became a Standing Committee member ranking fifth in the power hierarchy.

In addition to being a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, he concurrently serves as a secretary of the Party Central Secretariat. This position oversees the United Front Work Department, Organization Department, Propaganda Department, Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Discipline Inspection Commission, and Ministry of Public Security within the Communist Party, effectively making him the head of the 'security' sector.

Chai Qi also holds the position of director of the Party Central General Office. The Central General Office is an administrative organ directly under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also known as the Central Secretariat. Formally, it serves as the secretariat for the General Secretary of the Central Committee, the highest leader of the Party. In practice, however, it reports all core Party, government, and military affairs to President Xi, who concurrently holds the posts of General Secretary, State President, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, receives instructions from him, and conveys them to lower levels, thus wielding greater authority than its nominal role suggests.

On the surface, Chai Qi, ranked fifth in the hierarchy, holds both the head of 'security' and the chief secretary roles for President Xi, leading foreign media to assess that he exerts influence surpassing that of Li Qiang, the second-ranked Premier.