BEIJING — China has formally named Cai Qi, the nation’s fifth-highest-ranking official, as the new leader of the Communist Party’s premier ideology and training institution, further strengthening his role as one of President Xi Jinping’s most trusted inner circle members.
Cai joined the party’s seven-member Politburo Standing Committee — the highest level of political authority in China, led by Xi — back in 2022. He also serves as director of the party’s General Office, a role that effectively makes him Xi’s chief of staff.
The appointment carries significant historical weight. Both of China’s two most recent top leaders, Xi and Hu Jintao, previously led the prestigious Central Party School before rising to the country’s top position.
At 70 years old, Cai now brings together the party’s organizational structure, ideological direction, and administrative operations under one Standing Committee member — a concentration of influence that is considered rare within China’s political system.
The human resources ministry announced Thursday that Cai has replaced Chen Xi, 72, as president of the National Academy of Governance. Founded in 1994, the academy has been jointly run with the Central Party School since 2018 as a single institution under party leadership. Its primary responsibilities include training senior Chinese government officials and guiding party ideology.
Thursday’s formal announcement came after state media reported earlier this month that Cai had already attended a spring semester graduation ceremony at the school and academy in his capacity as president.
Cai’s relationship with Xi goes back many years, rooted in overlapping careers in China’s Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. In 2017, as Xi began his second term leading the Communist Party, Cai was elevated to the then 25-member Politburo, the party’s second-highest decision-making body.
