Xi’s Chief of Staff Is Quietly Amassing Even More Power in China
- Cai Qi is first No. 5 to also be top aide since Mao era
- Two men worked together for decades in coastal provinces
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When President Xi Jinping held talks in California with his US counterpart Joe Biden in November, seated to his right was a man who is quietly emerging as one of China’s most influential politicians.
Cai Qi wields unusual clout for China’s No. 5 official. Not only does he sit on the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, China’s most powerful body, but he also serves as Xi’s chief of staff — making him the first person to hold both positions since the Mao Zedong era.