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 members of the standing committee of the provincial party committee.

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, was born in Guangshui, Hubei in November 1968. 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 long worked in Hubei Province, 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 Committee Standing Committee and the Party Secretary of Xiangyang City.

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

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

Which city party secretaries are concurrently members of the provincial party committee standing committee?

Currently, the party secretaries of 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 members of the provincial party committee standing committee, with many of them also serving as deputy secretaries of the provincial party committee.

The 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; Cui Yonghui, Member of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Xiamen; Peng Jiaxue, Member of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Ningbo; Xiong Maoping, Member of the Liaoning Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Dalian; and Zeng Zanrong, Member of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Qingdao.

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 jurisdictions, high levels of urbanization, and high-level party and government officials. They are important growth poles in various regional economic sectors in China.

Beyond the aforementioned “27+5” cities, there are also some prefecture-level cities nationwide where the party secretary is concurrently a member of the provincial party committee standing committee. These cities typically have significant economic importance or are red revolutionary base areas.

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

Sanya, where Wang Qiyang has taken up his new position, is also a major tourism 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 Ciren, a member of the Tibet Autonomous Region Party Committee Standing Committee, concurrently serves as the Party Secretary of Xigaze City.

Famous red cities such as Yan’an and Zunyi have special political status and symbolic significance, and their top party officials are usually “highly positioned.” For example, Hao Huijie is a member of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Yan’an; Li Rui is a member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Party Secretary of Zunyi.

During certain special periods, the 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 efforts were still needed. On August 16, 2021, Wu Qiang, then a member of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Secretary-General, was appointed as the Party Secretary of Bijie City, marking the first time that the position of Bijie’s party secretary was “highly positioned” as a provincial party committee standing committee member.

Media commentary at that time noted that Wu Qiang, who had previously worked in Bijie City, was appointed as the Party Secretary of Bijie concurrently with his role as a member of the provincial party committee standing committee, which was clearly a reinforcement of Bijie’s party committee leadership. As a member of the provincial party committee 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 some municipalities directly under the central government and national new areas undertaking important missions can 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 Committee Standing Committee.

In the Xiong’an New Area, known as a “millennium plan and national priority,” the party working committee secretary and director of the management committee have been concurrently served by Zhang Guohua, a member of the Hebei Provincial Party Committee 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 Committee Standing Committee and the party working committee secretary and director of the management committee of the Xiong’an New Area.