On October 23, 2022, Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi attends a press conference at the Great Hall of the People with other newly appointed Standing Committee members and both domestic and international journalists. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
[People News] Recently, official reports on the activities of Cai Qi, one of Xi Jinping’s most important confidants and a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee, have shown a clear anomaly: the first paragraph of the reports, which normally highlights the core content, did not mention Xi Jinping. For Cai Qi, whose rise depends on flattery and personal allegiance, this is by no means a minor matter.
According to the first paragraph of a report by Xinhua News Agency on December 16, 2025, the first session of the seminar for centrally managed cadres to study and implement the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee was held that day at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance), with Cai Qi attending the opening ceremony and delivering a speech. The report shows that in his speech, Cai Qi called on centrally managed cadres to more deeply understand the decisive significance of the “Two Establishes,” resolutely achieve the “Two Safeguards,” and “further unify thought and action with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee,” among other points.
By contrast, at the opening ceremony of the first session of the “Seminar for Centrally Managed Cadres to Study and Implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee,” held on August 19, 2024, at the Central Party School, Li Ganjie, Minister of the CPC Central Organization Department, attended and delivered a speech. The first paragraph of that report mentioned “Xi Thought” and called for “unifying thought and action with the spirit of the plenary session.”
At the opening ceremony of the first session of the “Seminar for Centrally Managed Cadres to Study and Implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress,” held on February 20, 2023, at the Central Party School, Cai Qi attended and delivered a speech. The first paragraph of the report mentioned “Xi Thought” and the “Two Establishes Safeguards,” but made no mention of the “Party Central Committee.”
In contrast, in the most recent report, Xi’s name does not appear at all in the opening paragraph, the seminar’s title omits “Xi Thought,” and “the Party Central Committee” appears twice without omission.
Immediately in the second paragraph of the report, it mentions that “with the approval of the Party Central Committee,” centralized rotational training for centrally managed cadres will be conducted from December 2025 to April 2026.
It is only in the third paragraph that Xi’s name appears, along with Cai Qi’s flattering words about Xi, such as attributing the achievements of the “14th Five-Year Plan” period to Xi’s “guidance at the helm” and the “guidance of Xi Thought,” also mentioning “upholding and strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee.”
This arrangement once again demonstrates that the authority of the “Party Central Committee” is above Xi. Cai Qi, in charge of propaganda, has already had to submit to the “Party Central Committee” rather than Xi, whether or not he wants to. The downplaying of Xi in the report is noteworthy.
In fact, there have long been instances of reports on Cai Qi’s activities downplaying Xi.
On November 20, Chinese official media released two reports on Cai Qi’s activities. One covered his attendance at a symposium commemorating the 110th birthday of Hu Yaobang at the Great Hall of the People. Cai’s appearance came after external criticism for his absence from major events over the past ten days, including the opening ceremony of the Guangzhou National Games and the Central Conference on the Rule of Law.
This report mainly focused on Xi’s speech content and was therefore not included in the Cai Qi activity column. In his summary remarks at the meeting, Cai Qi did not flatter Xi as he usually did but only spoke of uniting around the Party Central Committee with Xi at its core, along with expressions of loyalty such as “2442.”
On the same day, the news on the sixth plenary session of the 20th Capital Planning and Construction Committee was included in the Cai Qi report column. According to official media, as head of the committee, Cai Qi’s speech mentioned only the “Party Central Committee” with Xi at its core and the study and implementation of Xi’s remarks on capital planning and construction, without mentioning “2442.” Before studying Xi’s remarks, he emphasized “thoroughly studying and implementing the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee,” and at the end emphasized “further improving the work mechanism of the Capital Planning Committee under the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee.”
Looking at the first paragraph of the official media report on the mobilization meeting of the Central Propaganda Team for the spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee on October 27, Cai Qi attended and delivered a speech. After mentioning loyalty to “2442,” he said, “effectively unify thought and action with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee,” but Xi’s name did not appear.
Only in the second paragraph did Xi’s name appear twice, while the second and third paragraphs together mentioned the “Party Central Committee” three times.
At the July 24, 2024 mobilization meeting of the Central Propaganda Team for the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the first paragraph reported that Cai Qi in his speech called for “implementing Xi Jinping’s important instructions on doing propaganda work well,” mentioning “2442” and “effectively unifying thought and action with the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee.” In the following second and third paragraphs, Cai Qi mentioned Xi three times and the “Party Central Committee” twice.
From first paragraphs a year ago mentioning Xi, with Cai Qi mentioning Xi three times and the Party Central Committee twice, to today’s reports over a year later where the opening paragraph does not mention Xi and Cai Qi mentions Xi twice and the Party Central Committee three times, this subtle shift reflects changes in the power structure at the top.
At the Third Plenary Session last July, Xi had just been reported to have encountered trouble, and the top CPC leadership inevitably experienced some confusion, with Xi’s faction still holding considerable voice. But after more than a year of high-level struggle, Xi’s faction has clearly weakened. Xi’s military confidants are being removed one by one, and confidants in the Party and government are being taken down or replaced.
As for Cai Qi, who was exceptionally promoted by Xi personally, he has also shown anomalies after Xi’s setback. For example, he often misses official occasions where he is supposed to accompany Xi, such as Xi’s inspections in Fujian and Anhui in October and in Hubei in November last year, where Cai was notably absent. Moreover, his flattery of Xi has clearly declined. These signs suggest that Xi’s loss of power is not baseless; as a favored minister, Cai Qi would be the first to notice these shifts.
(First published by People News) △
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