Cai Qi | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
蔡奇 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Cai during CCP general secretary Xi Jinping'svisit to Vietnam in December 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 20 March 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Meng Xiangfeng | ||||||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | Xi Jinping | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Ding Xuexiang | ||||||||||||||||||
| Party Secretary of Beijing | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 27 May 2017 – 13 November 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Chen Jining Yin Yong (Mayor) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Guo Jinlong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Yin Li | ||||||||||||||||||
| Mayor of Beijing | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 31 October 2016 – 27 May 2017 (Acting until 20 January 2017) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Party Secretary | Guo Jinlong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Wang Anshun | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chen Jining | ||||||||||||||||||
| President of theOrganizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 February 2018 – 13 March 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| IOC President | Thomas Bach | ||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Lee Hee-beom | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Giovanni Malagò | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chair of theBeijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games | |||||||||||||||||||
| In office 9 June 2017 – 13 March 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Guo Jinlong | ||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Position dissolved | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1955-12-05)December 5, 1955 (age 69) Youxi County,Fujian, China | ||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Chinese Communist Party (1975–present) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Fujian Normal University | ||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 蔡奇 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 蔡奇 | ||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Cai Qi (Chinese:蔡奇;pinyin:Cài Qí; born December 5, 1955) is a Chinese politician, who is the currentfirst-ranked member of theSecretariat of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), fifth-ranking member of the CCP'sPolitburo Standing Committee and thedirector of the CCP General Office, making him thede factochief of staff toCCP General SecretaryXi Jinping.
A graduate ofFujian Normal University, Cai began his career in his nativeFujian province, where he worked at theFujian Provincial Committee of the CCP. In 1997, he became the mayor ofSanming, serving there until 1999. In that year, he was transferred toZhejiang to become the mayor ofQuzhou, working there until 2002. He worked as theCCP committee secretary ofTaizhou from 2002 to 2007, and as the mayor ofHangzhou from 2007 to 2010. From 2010 to 2014, he served as the executive vice governor of Zhejiang.
In 2014 was transferred to Beijing to serve as deputy director of theCCP National Security Commission Office (rank equivalent of minister). From 2016 to 2017, he briefly served as themayor of Beijing. Between 2017 and 2022, he was theParty Secretary of Beijing. During his tenure. Ca oversaw Beijing's response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, as well as preparations for the2022 Winter Olympics. In 2022, he was promoted to the 5th-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee and was elected to the Secretariat. Largely due to Cai's extensive experience working in Zhejiang province, he is believed to be apolitical ally ofCCP General SecretaryXi Jinping.
Cai was born inYouxi County,Fujian province on December 5, 1955.[1] During the latter years of the Cultural Revolution he worked at the Xiyang Commune,Yong'an, Fujian. He joined theChinese Communist Party (CCP) in August 1975.[2] Cai attendedFujian Normal University and graduated in 1978 with a degree in political economics.[1][3] Afterwards, he stayed in the university as an official in its CCP committee, working there until 1983.[1][4]
In 1983, he was transferred to theFujian Provincial Committee of the CCP, working there as a clerk until 1985, then working as a division deputy head between 1985 and 1987, and then working as amishu at a General Work Department between 1987 and 1991.[1] He worked as the deputy director of the Office of Political Reform between 1991 and 1992, deputy director of the Party Building Department between 1992 and 1993, and deputy director of the Provincial PartyGeneral Office between 1993 and 1996. As deputy director of the General Office, he was primarily a personal secretary to then Fujian CCP secretaryChen Guangyi.[1]
Between 1994 and 1997, he pursued a post-graduate degree in economic law at his alma mater via part-time studies.[3] He additionally attended a four-month training program for department and prefecture-level cadres at theCCP Central Party School in 1996.[1] In September 1996 Cai took on his first major role in local government as the deputy CCP secretary, and later in November 1997, mayor of the city ofSanming in Fujian, working there until 1999.[3]
He was transferred to Zhejiang province in May 1999 serving as thedeputy CCP committee secretary and Mayor ofQuzhou, working there until 2002.[1][3] Cai additionally pursued a doctoral degree in political economics, which he obtained from September 1999 to July 2001 at Fujian Normal University through part-time studies.[3] Between March 2002 and April 2004 Cai served as Quzhou's CCP secretary, the top political office of the city.[3] He engaged with the "Eight-eight Strategy [zh]" of theZhejiang Provincial Committee and executed the dual initiatives of designating the city as an industrial hub and capitalizing on its developmental advantages, thereby establishing a foundation for advancement in Quzhou.[5][6][7]
In April 2004 Cai became party secretary ofTaizhou, Zhejiang; at the time,Xi Jinping was the party secretary of Zhejiang province.[3] In April 2007, Cai was promoted to the position Mayor ofHangzhou, the provincial capital, also serving as deputy CCP Secretary.[3] In July 2008, as Hangzhou mayor, Cai started a scheme to recruit petition liaison officers.[8]
In January 2010, he became a member of the provincialCCP Standing Committee as head of the party's provincial Organization Department.[3] In November 2013, Cai became the Executive Vice Governor of Zhejiang province, where he was the deputy of then Governor of ZhejiangLi Qiang.[9] He made the announcement of his change in jobs on hisTencent Weibo account before the official media's announcement was made.[10]
In March 2014, Cai was said to have been transferred to Beijing to work as the deputy director of the General Office of theCCP National Security Commission, a newly established body led by CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, though no official announcement was made about this appointment.[11] In April 2015, he assumed the position of Executive Deputy Director of the Office of the Central National Security Commission.[12][13]
On 31 October 2016, Cai was appointed actingmayor of Beijing,[12] replacingWang Anshun.[13] In November 2016, he served as the Executive Chairman of the Organizing Committee for theBeijing 2022 Winter Olympic andParalympic Games.[14] In December 2016, in response to rising house prices, he said the municipal government would "make sure" prices will "not rise" in 2017.[15] On 7 January 2017, Cai announced the creation of a new environmental police, which he said would target target open-air barbecues, garbage incineration and the burning of wood and other biomass. He also set ambitious targets for reducing pollution in the city.[16]
He was formally appointed as mayor by theBeijing Municipal People's Congress on 20 January 2017.[17][18] He was also appointed as thedeputy CCP committee secretary of Beijing.[1] In February 2017, he became the head of a leading group in Beijing to ensure that the military stopped providing paid services.[19] In May 2017, Cai was appointed asCCP committee secretary of Beijing. Cai's appointment broke nearly all conventions in post-Cultural Revolution political tradition; he was neither a member nor alternate member of the Central Committee, and took on an office that would, under normal circumstances, be accorded Politburo membership.[20]
In preparation for the19th CCP National Congress, Cai called for strengthening social controls and cyber security defense, and cracking down on "various political rumors and harmful information" in September 2017.[21] He was appointed to the19th CCP Politburo immediately after the 19th CCP National Congress in October 2017, becoming one of the few people to be appointed to the Politburo before serving at the CCP Central Committee.[22]
In 2017, early in his tenure, Cai came under controversy due to the forceful eviction of manymigrant workers from Beijing.[23] On November 18, 2017, a significant fire incident transpired in a communal rental housing structure inXihongmen, Beijing, leading to 19 fatalities and 8 injuries.[24][25] Following the incident and the resultant tragic casualties from the fire, Beijing initiated a 40-day special operation on November 20, 2017, aimed at conducting a comprehensive investigation and remediation of potential safety hazards, particularly in group-rented housing identified as having significant fire risks.[26][27][28]
.jpg)
During his tenure, Cai Qi promoted green development, particularly environmental protection, in Beijing. In 2016, the yearly averagePM2.5 concentration in Beijing decreased by 9.9% compared to the previous year, resulting in a total reduction of 23.7% since 2012.[29] He also devoted work to national security issues, especiallycybersecurity.[1] In June 2020, Cai was appointed to lead the team charged with the elimination ofcoronavirus in theXinfadi market.[30]
As the Beijing Party secretary, Cai was responsible for organizing the2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing. In June 2017, he was appointedPresident of theBeijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. He gave an opening speech during theopening ceremony of the Olympics,[31] as well as during theclosing ceremony.[32] He was awarded theGold Olympic Order after the Olympics.[33]
.jpg)
Following the1st Plenary Session of the20th CCP Central Committee, held after the closing day of the20th Party Congress in October 2022, Cai was appointed to theCCP Politburo Standing Committee as its fifth-ranking member, also becoming the first-ranking member of theCCP Secretariat.[34][35] On November 13, 2022, Cai Qi relinquished his position as Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, being succeeded byYin Li.[36] On December 6, 2022, Cai Qi officiatedJiang Zemin's memorial service at theGreat Hall of the People in Beijing.[37] On December 11,Jiang Zemin's widowWang Yeping and other relatives, as well as Cai Qi, slowly scattered Jiang's ashes along with colourful flower petals at the estuary of theYangtze River.[38] In March 2023, he became thedirector of the CCP General Office, succeedingDing Xuexiang; this made him the first General Office director that's also member of the Politburo Standing Committee sinceWang Dongxing.[39] Cai was revealed as a deputy head of theCCP National Security Commission in May 2023.[40][41] According to theSouth China Morning Post, Xi appointed Cai to succeed himself as the leader of theCentral Cyberspace Affairs Commission in the first half of 2023.[42] Cai has also frequently accompanied Xi on trips, responsible for arranging his security, schedule and daily affairs.[41]
He spoke at the annualNational Conference of Publicity Ministers (NCPM) in January 2023, where he called on officials to usecore socialist values, improve foreign propaganda work, and upholdXi Jinping Thought andTwo Establishes andTwo Upholds.[43] In August, Cai hosted 57 scientists at the "forefront of domestic technology" inBeidaihe.[44] In October, Cai held theNational Conference on Publicity, Ideology and Cultural Work, where the CCP put forward theXi Jinping Thought on Culture.[45] At the January 2024 annual NCPM, Cai called on propaganda officials to "strengthen positive publicity and public opinion" and "sing loudly about China's bright economic prospects".[46] In April 2024, the leading group ofCentral Leading Group for Party Building held a meeting presided by Cai Qi, which said a Party discipline education campaign within the CCP would be held from April to July 2024.[47] In August 2024, he hosted leading scientists from artificial intelligence, quantum physics, deep-sea exploration and aerospace sectors in Beidaihe.[48]
In January 2025, Cai called on officials to step up promotion of China's economic achievements at the annual NCPM conference.[49] On February 5, 2025, he chaired a meeting of the central-level special working mechanism aimed at rectifying formalism to alleviate burdens on grassroots entities, underscoring the execution of the Central Committee'sEight-point Regulation and the ongoing efforts to mitigateformalism's impact on grassroots operations.[50] In August 2025, he hosted experts from high-tech industries, young talent engaged in fundamental research and scholars of philosophy and the social sciences in Beidaihe.[51] During the2025 Tianjin SCO summit, Cai met with Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi,[52] Egyptian Prime MinisterMostafa Madbouly[53] and Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan.[54] In November 2023, Cai published an opinion piece in thePeople's Daily, where he stressed the "extreme importance of exercising full and rigorous party self-governance to achieve the economic and social development goals of the15th five-year plan period".[55]
Cai is known for his extensive use of social media and his unorthodox approach to governance.[56] Cai has referred to Xi as "Xi Dada" (Uncle Xi) and "Boss Xi" in public media.[57]The Economist opined in 2017 as Cai "rocketed up the Communist Party's ranks" that "Xi Jinping has chosen an unusual man to lead the capital city."[58] Cai is said to have been a fan ofKevin Spacey'sHouse of Cards TV serial, and was cited as a fan of theiPhone product.[59]
Cai maintains aWeibo microblog account under the subtitle "Cai Qi, aBolshevik",[60] which has been active since May 2010.[61] The account was initially opened under the nameQianshui (潜水; literally, "scuba diving"), but he was eventually 'outed' by internet users. The account is 'followed' by over ten million people. He used it regularly to communicate with citizens.[62] As a sub-provincial-level official Cai was one of the highest-ranking officials to maintain a regular social media presence.[63] It is the opinion of certain political scholars that Cai used this Weibo tool to circumvent existing CCP apparatus and thereby gain public profile, "considerable influence" within the CCP and thereby promotion.[63] Cai has stated of theCCP that:[64] He stopped posting on Weibo after his transfer to Beijing in March 2014.[22]
Before retirement, Cai Qi's wife was a bureau-level official in Zhejiang. The couple have a son, who previously worked as an official at the subdistrict level in Hangzhou and as a staff member at theNational Development and Reform Commission.[1]
Cai Qi dispatched epidemic prevention and control work and went to the on-site inspection in Xicheng District of Fengtai District to require decisive treatment and precise prevention and control, and quickly and resolutely block the source of infection
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party 2022–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Party Secretary of Beijing 2017–2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Head of the Organization Department of Zhejiang province 2010–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | President of Organizing Committee for Winter Olympic Games 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Mayor of Beijing 2016–2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Hangzhou 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |
