Unusual Absence from Paris and Anomalous Reports – Is China’s First Vice Premier in Trouble?

A month ago, media reports claimed that China’s First Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang had been suspended. (Screenshot from video)

[People News] On February 7, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Zhang Guoqing, a member of the CCP Politburo and Vice Premier of the State Council, would attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris from February 9 to 12 as a special representative of Xi Jinping. What’s strange is that just a few days ago, foreign media reported that U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance would attend the summit and also revealed that Ding Xuexiang would be representing China. This seemed logical, as Ding oversees the relevant areas related to the summit.

According to a leaked "State Council Leadership Work Allocation" document outlining responsibilities within China’s new cabinet: Premier Li Qiang leads the State Council’s overall work. Among the four vice premiers: Ding Xuexiang mainly handles State Council executive affairs, overseeing development and reform, education, technology, finance, environmental protection, taxation, statistics, and intellectual property. He Lifeng is responsible for natural resources, housing and urban-rural development, transportation, commerce, and finance. Zhang Guoqing oversees industry and information technology, emergency management, state-owned asset supervision, and market regulation. Liu Guozhong is in charge of water resources, agriculture, rural affairs, health, and medical security.

Given this division of responsibilities, Ding Xuexiang would have been the most suitable representative for the Paris AI summit. In similar past events, he indeed took part.

For instance: On January 21, 2024, Ding Xuexiang attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he gave a speech and answered questions about how AI and other technological innovations could better serve humanity. On November 20, 2024, Ding Xuexiang delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, highlighting advances in the internet, big data, cloud computing, AI, and blockchain. He also called on the international community to jointly build a "shared future in cyberspace."

Why Was Ding Xuexiang Replaced at the Paris Summit? Ding Xuexiang was originally expected to attend the Paris Artificial Intelligence Summit, where he would have had the opportunity to meet U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance. However, the role was instead given to Zhang Guoqing, which raises suspicions. The author speculates two possible reasons:

1. Ding Xuexiang Fell Ill. Ding was last seen publicly on January 27 at the Lunar New Year gathering. Since then, he has been absent from public events. Given the widespread flu outbreak in China, it's possible he fell ill despite having access to top-tier healthcare.

2. Ding Xuexiang Is in Political Trouble. In mid-December 2024, Australian-based dissident Jiang Wangzheng claimed that Ding Xuexiang had been suspended from all duties starting December 20, with He Lifeng temporarily taking over Ding’s responsibilities. Jiang later reaffirmed his claims, stating: Recent State Council documents did not have Ding Xuexiang’s signature for approvals in departments like the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Science and Technology. Instead, the NDRC’s approvals were signed by He Lifeng, while education and technology matters went to Liu Guozhong.

Jiang Wangzheng was formerly an assistant branch manager at Ping An Bank's Hangzhou branch in mainland China. His grandfather, Jiang Yongcheng, was a member of Chiang Kai-shek’s family, and in 2018, Jiang Wangzheng fled abroad. He is also the nephew of Yao Zuoting, the former First Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission, who was part of Xi Jinping’s faction. It is said that his past leaks have been highly accurate.

However, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) quickly moved to "debunk" the rumors. On December 23, during a swearing-in ceremony, CCTV deliberately gave Ding Xuexiang two camera shots, while none of the other vice premiers or state councilors received such treatment. Later, in January 2024, Ding Xuexiang was sent to Switzerland to attend the 2025 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting and also visited the Netherlands. After returning to China, he continued to attend a series of official events.

It is worth noting the last two public appearances before the Lunar New Year. On January 27, during the Spring Festival gathering, Xinhua News Agency released a group photo of the seven Politburo Standing Committee members plus Han Zheng entering the venue. Everyone’s face was clearly visible—except for Ding Xuexiang, who was blocked by Cai Qi and appeared alongside Li Xi and Han Zheng in a blurred-out manner. From the video footage, it is clear that other angles were available for selection, yet Xinhua deliberately chose a photo where Ding Xuexiang was effectively "omitted." Why?

At a January 26 meeting with foreign experts, the official news photo only showed Ding’s side profile, while lower-ranking Wang Yi received a full frontal shot. The media could have easily chosen better angles to show Ding Xuexiang’s face clearly—but they did not.

In official Chinese Communist Party (CCP) reports, strict regulations govern the layout, word count, content, and photos based on the rank of each leader, and media outlets must adhere to these rules meticulously. If there is any anomaly in the reporting of a particular leader—and it is not due to a media personnel error—then it is highly likely that the leader in question is facing some kind of political trouble.

Based on the anomalies in two separate state media reports regarding Ding Xuexiang, it appears that the issue does not stem from media personnel themselves but rather signals a potential political downfall for Ding. The so-called "rumors" may be turning into reality. As Xi Jinping’s trusted aide and former Director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee, Ding Xuexiang possesses extensive insider knowledge about Xi. Since Xi reportedly suffered a stroke in July 2023, his power has been gradually weakened. Whether Ding remained a loyalist or betrayed Xi during this period is unclear, but if he is indeed in trouble, it would not be surprising. After all, no one rises to a high position within the CCP without engaging in ruthless political maneuvering—often requiring moral compromises and alignment with the regime’s oppressive system. This also suggests that internal power struggles within the CCP leadership are ongoing, possibly as part of a broader effort to further weaken Xi’s control by removing key allies.

Ding Xuexiang’s absence from the Paris summit and the abnormalities in state media reports may indicate that he is in serious trouble. However, until official confirmation emerges, the CCP may continue to deny or cover up the situation. It remains to be seen how this unfolds.