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

Recently, there have been coordinated adjustments to municipal party secretaries concurrently serving as provincial party standing committee members in cities such as Nanjing, Jiangsu, and Sanya, Hainan.
According to a report by Hainan Radio and Television Group on December 3, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China recently approved the appointment of 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 born in Guangshui, Hubei in November 1968, with ancestral roots in Gao’an, Jiangxi, holds a Ph.D. in Management from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law and an MBA from Hull University 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 and Director of the Provincial Economy and Information Technology Commission, and Secretary 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, who previously served as a member of the Hainan Provincial Party Standing Committee and the Party Secretary of Sanya City, was appointed as a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Standing Committee and the 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 a provincial party standing committee member.
Which municipal party secretaries are concurrently provincial party standing committee members?
Currently, the municipal party secretaries of China’s 27 provincial capitals (including 10 sub-provincial cities: Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Hangzhou, Jinan, Harbin, Shenyang, and Changchun) and 5 special administrative regions (Shenzhen, Xiamen, Ningbo, Qingdao, and Dalian) are all concurrently provincial party standing committee members, with many of them also serving as deputy provincial party secretaries.
The municipal party secretaries of the five special administrative regions are: Meng Fanli, Deputy Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee; Cui Yonghui, Member of the Fujian Provincial Party Standing Committee and Secretary of the Xiamen Municipal Party Committee; Peng Jiaxue, Member of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Standing Committee and Secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee; Xiong Maoping, Member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Standing Committee and Secretary of the Dalian Municipal Party Committee; and Zeng Zanrong, Member of the Shandong Provincial Party Standing Committee and Secretary of the Qingdao Municipal Party Committee.
Research articles point out that in China’s urban system, sub-provincial cities have a “flattened” political and economic structure, characterized by large economies, small administrative areas, high levels of urbanization, and high-level party and government officials. These cities are important growth poles in various regional economic sectors.
Beyond the aforementioned “27+5” cities, there are also some prefecture-level cities nationwide where the municipal party secretary is concurrently a provincial party standing committee member. These cities typically have significant economic importance or are known as red revolutionary bases.
For example, Liu Xiaotao, the municipal party secretary of Suzhou, the strongest prefecture-level city in China, is also a member of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Standing Committee; Jiang Ling, the municipal party secretary of Luoyang, the second-largest city in Henan, is also a member of the Henan Provincial Party Standing Committee; and Ding Xiufeng, the municipal party secretary of Baotou, the second-largest city in Inner Mongolia, is a member of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Standing Committee.
Sanya, where Wang Qiyang has taken up his new position, is also a major tourist and economic city in Hainan Province.
Another example is Xigaze, located in the southwestern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and serving as a regional sub-center in Tibet. In 2014, the Xigaze Prefecture and county-level city were abolished, and a prefecture-level Xigaze City 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 “highly positioned.” Examples include Hao Huijie, a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Standing Committee and the Party Secretary of Yan’an City, and Li Rui, a member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Standing Committee and the Party Secretary of Zunyi City.
During certain special periods, the municipal party secretaries of some prefecture-level cities may be “highly positioned.” 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 a Bijie municipal party secretary was “highly positioned” as a provincial party standing committee member.
Media commentary at that time noted that Wu Qiang, who had previously worked in Bijie City, was appointed as the municipal party secretary concurrently with his role as a provincial party standing committee member, which was clearly a reinforcement of Bijie’s municipal party leadership. As a member of the provincial party standing committee, he could mobilize considerable policy resources to inject momentum into Bijie’s development.
In addition, the personnel arrangements for the top party officials (party working committee secretaries) of districts under direct-administered municipalities and national new areas undertaking important missions may also follow the aforementioned situation.
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 secretary and director of the party working committee has been concurrently served 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 secretary and director of the Xiong’an New Area Party Working Committee.