On July 17, Peng Liyuan appeared at the 2025 "Guling Friendship" U.S.-China Youth Exchange event hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. (Video screenshot)
[People News] According to revelations from overseas commentator Jiang Wangzheng, Gansu Party Secretary Hu Changsheng is set to replace Chen Yixin as Minister of State Security. Commentators Cai Shenkun and Yue Ge have both confirmed this claim. Jiang argued: This position is undoubtedly important, but Hu was originally slated to become Party Secretary of Inner Mongolia; moving him instead to the Ministry of State Security is a downgrade compared with being a major regional leader. Reportedly, Hu passed Xi Jinping’s political test through his handling of the Tianshui child lead poisoning incident.
1. From University Teacher to Gansu Party Secretary
Hu Changsheng ancestral home in Jiangxi born in December 1963. He began his career teaching at Chengdu College of Geology, working in the Communist Youth League, and held an associate professor title. In 1998, he was transferred to become the Vice District Head of Chengdu’s Jinjiang District. After that, he successively served as Party Secretary of Yingjing County, Head of the Organisation Department of Ya’an City, Mayor of Ya’an, and Party Secretary of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
From 1996 to 2002, Zhou Yongkang served as Governor and then Party Secretary of Sichuan. Hu must have received help from Zhou himself or his network, which allowed him to rise from a university teacher to a government official.
From June 2015 to July 2017, Hu was transferred to Qinghai, serving as Provincial Party Standing Committee member and Head of the Organisation Department. Later, he was transferred to Fujian as Provincial Standing Committee member, Head of the Organisation Department, and President of the Party School, then served as Party Secretary of Xiamen and Deputy Party Secretary of Fujian. Zhao Leji was known as the “Qinghai King,” and Hu may have built connections with Zhao during this time, later entering Xi Jinping’s orbit through Zhao. Afterwards, his career accelerated: Jan 2021 – Feb 2021: Deputy Party Secretary of Heilongjiang, Secretary of the Provincial Government Party Leadership Group. Feb 2021 – Dec 2022: Governor of Heilongjiang. 2022 – present: Party Secretary of Gansu. Jan 2023 – present: Concurrent Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Gansu People’s Congress.
2. Zhao Leji’s Support, the Tianshui Lead Poisoning Case, and its Impact
Jiang Wangzheng commented that Hu’s promotion was less than expected.
According to public information, under Zhao Leji’s chairmanship, a Standing Committee inspection team of the National People’s Congress carried out a comprehensive inspection of the Food Safety Law in Gansu from May 13 to 16, 2025, visiting schools, cafeterias, and food producers in Lanzhou and Tianshui.
On May 17, 2025, People’s Daily published an article fully affirming Gansu’s “experience and practices” in implementing the Food Safety Law.
It seemed Hu’s path to promotion had been paved, but in June, the Tianshui lead poisoning case broke out. Hu reacted quickly, ultimately seeing 17 individuals placed under investigation and 10 held accountable, thereby silencing public outrage.
Soon after, the State Council Food Safety Commission—under Politburo Standing Committee member Ding Xuexiang—issued a conclusive statement. The fact that Hu secured help from two Standing Committee members shows his considerable backing.
3. A Promotion Not for Power, but to Make Way for the Young?
Commentator “Great Bao Dynasty” argued that only younger cadres being promoted count as Xi’s true favourites. Yue Ge said the CCP leadership suffers from severe ageing, and in the future, those born in the 1970s will be the main appointees. Jiang Wangzheng judged Hu’s promotion as merely a move to make way for younger officials. So, for whom is Hu making space?
Zhang Xiaoqiang, born in November 1975 in Qingyuan County, Lishui City, Zhejiang, currently 49, 2023, has served as a Standing Committee member of the Gansu Party Committee, Party Secretary of Lanzhou, and Party Secretary of Lanzhou New Area. It is Zhang Xiaoqiang whom Hu is making space for.
4. Xi Jinping’s “Assessment” of Hu Changsheng through the Tianshui Incident
In 2024, Xi Jinping inspected Gansu, with Hu accompanying him throughout. Observers noted that at Maijishan Grottoes, Hu stood beside Xi with a cautious posture, not daring to straighten his back—like a servant of an ancient monarch. By August 2025, Hu had mentioned “studying and implementing Xi Jinping’s spirit” nine times in a single speech. Commentators saw this as a possible signal of imminent promotion. Since Hu is not a typical “Xi loyalist,” this level of flattery may also reflect the behaviour of non-Xi faction cadres.
Jiang Wangzheng revealed that Xi is dissatisfied with his close ally Wang Xiaohong, mainly because of Wang’s humble background as a grassroots policeman who only knows violent suppression when problems arise, fueling public resentment and damaging Xi’s image. Social media outlet Youliao claimed Xi may be preparing to sideline Wang. Yue Ge concluded that emergency-handling ability has become a key test for CCP appointments.
Xi’s assessment of Hu focused on his crisis management. The timeline is telling: March 2025: signs of Tianshui child blood lead problems emerge, June 2025: public outcry explodes, August 2025: Hu’s personnel change surfaces. This suggests Xi was testing him through a crisis.
Compared with Wang Xiaohong’s Ministry of Public Security, Hu’s provincial-level handling looked relatively competent: 1. Launching investigations and a provincial-level task force, while holding local officials accountable. 2. Establishing special treatment and support for affected children to ease parents’ concerns. 3. Detaining two “overly agitated” parents to maintain order. 4. Waiting for and releasing authoritative state-level test results to close the case.
Internationally, UNICEF expressed concern but praised the government’s rapid and timely response. Afterwards, no more parental complaints appeared online, and the case seemed settled.
By contrast, the Hangzhou sewage incident highlighted Zhejiang Party Secretary Wang Hao’s poor judgment, delayed information disclosure, and disorganised response—likely costing him any future promotion.
Jiang Wangzheng alleged that Wang Hao owed his career boost to helping Peng Liyuan with holiday gifts while serving as a small-town official in Shandong. Before becoming Zhejiang Party Secretary, he supposedly “contributed” 800 million yuan to Peng. During the central officials’ visit to Zhejiang, Wang allegedly hosted banquets costing 1 million yuan per meal, shocking even the well-informed Jiang.
5. State Security Abroad Like a “Lion-Camel Ridge”—Is Hu’s Promotion a Blessing or Curse?
Former State Security Minister Chen Yixin had already extended counter-espionage work into kindergartens, leaving Hu little room except perhaps prenatal education. Internationally, the Ministry of State Security controls massive operations—from scam compounds to organ trafficking networks—with armed power, resembling the monster-ruled “Lion-Camel Ridge” in Journey to the West.
Commentator Zhou Mingfeng claimed both of China’s previous two state leaders had ties with Islam and the CIA. He did not name them, but said if this secret is exposed, it would implicate thousands of senior officials in espionage.
In August 2022, She Zhijiang was arrested in Thailand. He claimed to be a State Security operative, recruited in 2016 by someone codenamed “Ma Dongli,” and tasked with Belt and Road projects. Following MSS instructions, he ran the “Shuigou Valley” scam compound in Myanmar. When arrested, authorities seized 2.1 billion yuan. She also revealed that Philippine politician Guo Huaping was a State Security agent. On June 29, 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Guo Huaping—a former Philippine mayor—was tied to pig-butchering scam compounds and POGO gambling operators, with 7 billion yuan seized upon her arrest.
If Xi Jinping puts Hu Changsheng in charge of overseas state security operations, his experience with the Tianshui lead poisoning case will hardly be enough.
(First published by People News)
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