Personnel News | Which Municipal Party Committee Secretaries Are Concurrently Served as Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee Members

Recently, there have been coordinated adjustments in the party secretaries of cities like Nanjing, Jiangsu, and Sanya, Hainan, who are concurrently served by provincial party standing committee members.

According to a report by Hainan Radio and Television Group on December 3, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China recently approved Wang Qiyang as a member and standing committee member of the Hainan Provincial Party Committee. The Hainan Provincial Party Committee subsequently decided to appoint Wang Qiyang as a member, standing committee member, and secretary of the Sanya Municipal Party Committee.

Wang Qiyang, a male of Han ethnicity, was born in Guangshui, Hubei, in November 1968, with ancestral roots in Gao’an, Jiangxi. He holds a Ph.D. in Management from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law and an MBA from the University of Hull in the UK. He joined the workforce in July 1991 and became a member of the Communist Party of China in January 1991.

Wang Qiyang has worked in Hubei Province for a long time, serving in various positions including Chairman and Party Secretary of Hubei Broadcasting and Television Information Network Co., Ltd., Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Provincial Economy and Information Technology Commission, and Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Provincial Economy and Information Technology Department. In 2020, he was appointed as the Party Secretary of Jingmen City.

In 2022, Wang Qiyang became a member of the Hubei Provincial Party Standing Committee and the Party Secretary of Xiangyang City.

Earlier, Zhou Hongbo, the former member of the Hainan Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Sanya City, was appointed as a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Nanjing City.

Both Xiangyang and Sanya are among the few prefecture-level cities in recent years where the municipal party secretary is concurrently served by a provincial party standing committee member.

Which Municipal Party Secretaries are Concurrently Served by Provincial Party Standing Committee Members?

Currently, the municipal party secretaries of China’s 27 provincial capitals and municipalities directly under the central government (including 10 sub-provincial cities: Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Hangzhou, Jinan, Harbin, Shenyang, and Changchun) as well as 5 cities with independent planning status (Shenzhen, Xiamen, Ningbo, Qingdao, and Dalian) are all concurrently served by provincial party standing committee members, many of whom are also deputy secretaries of the provincial party committees.

The municipal party secretaries of the five cities with independent planning status are: Meng Fanli, Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Party Secretary of Shenzhen City; Cui Yonghui, Member of the Fujian Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Xiamen City; Peng Jiaxue, Member of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Ningbo City; Xiong Maoping, Member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Dalian City; and Zeng Zanrong, Member of the Shandong Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Qingdao City.

Research articles point out that sub-provincial cities in China’s urban system have a “flat” political and economic structure, characterized by a large economic scale, small jurisdictional area, high urbanization level, and high-level political appointments. They are all important growth poles in various regional economic sectors in China.

In addition to the aforementioned “27+5” cities, there are currently some prefecture-level cities across the country where the municipal party secretary is concurrently served by a provincial party standing committee member. These cities typically have significant economic importance or are historic revolutionary bases.

For example, in Suzhou, the strongest prefecture-level city in China, the municipal party secretary Liu Xiaotao is also a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Standing Committee; in Luoyang, the second-largest city in Henan, the municipal party secretary Jiang Ling is also a member of the Henan Provincial Party Standing Committee; and in Baotou, the second-largest city in Inner Mongolia, the municipal party secretary Ding Xiufeng is a member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Standing Committee.

Sanya, where Wang Qiyang has taken up a new position, is also a major tourist and economic city in Hainan Province.

Another example is Xigaze, located in the southwestern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and serving as a regional sub-center in Tibet. In 2014, the Xigaze Prefecture and county-level city were abolished, and the prefecture-level city of Xigaze was established. Dawa Tsering, a member of the Tibet Autonomous Region Party Standing Committee, concurrently serves as the municipal party secretary of Xigaze.

Famous red cities such as Yan’an and Zunyi hold special political status and symbolic significance, and their top party officials are usually “high-level appointments.” For instance, Hao Huijie is a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Yan’an City; and Li Rui is a member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Zunyi City.

During certain special periods, the municipal party secretaries of some prefecture-level cities may receive “high-level appointments.” In 2020, China achieved a comprehensive victory in the battle against poverty, but many follow-up tasks remained. On August 16, 2021, Wu Qiang, then a member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Standing Committee and Secretary-General, was appointed as the Party Secretary of Bijie City, marking the first time that the position was held by a provincial party standing committee member.

Media commented at that time that Wu Qiang, who had previously worked in Bijie, was appointed as the municipal party secretary concurrently with his position as a provincial party standing committee member, which significantly strengthened the leadership of the Bijie Municipal Party Committee. As a member of the provincial party standing committee, he could mobilize considerable policy resources to inject momentum into Bijie’s development.

Furthermore, the personnel arrangements for the top party officials (party working committee secretaries) in districts under the jurisdiction of municipalities directly under the central government and national new areas undertaking important missions may also follow the aforementioned pattern.

For example, in Tianjin Binhai New Area, the first free trade pilot zone, national comprehensive reform pilot zone, and national independent innovation demonstration zone in the north, the district party secretary is concurrently served by Lian Maojun, a member of the Tianjin Municipal Party Standing Committee.

In the Xiong’an New Area, known as a “millennium plan and national priority,” the position of party working committee secretary and director of the management committee has been concurrently held by Zhang Guohua, a member of the Hebei Provincial Party Standing Committee, since December 2020. In January 2024, Zhang Guohua was elected as the Chairman of the Hebei Provincial Political Consultative Conference, while continuing to serve as a member of the Hebei Provincial Party Standing Committee and the party working committee secretary and director of the management committee of the Xiong’an New Area.