Cai Qi | |||||||||||||||||||
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蔡奇 | |||||||||||||||||||
 Cai in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 23 October 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||
| General Secretary | Xi Jinping | ||||||||||||||||||
| Director of theGeneral Office of the Chinese Communist Party | |||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 20 March 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Cai Qi (Chinese:蔡奇;pinyin:Cài Qí; born December 5, 1955) is a Chinese politician, who is the currentfirst-ranked secretary of theSecretariat of the Chinese Communist Party, fifth-ranking member of theCCP Politburo Standing Committee and the director of theCCP General Office, making him thede factochief of staff to theCCP General Secretary.[1]
Cai began his career inFujian province. He has served successively as the mayor ofSanming, the mayor ofQuzhou, the mayor ofHangzhou and theCCP committee secretary ofTaizhou, Zhejiang. Beginning in 2010 he served as the executive vice governor ofZhejiang Province, and in 2014 was transferred to Beijing to serve as deputy director of theCCP National Security Commission Office (rank equivalent of minister). Between 2017 and 2022, he was theParty Secretary of Beijing. 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.[2] During the latter years of the Cultural Revolution he worked at the Xiyang Commune, Yong’an County, Fujian. He joined theChinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1975. Cai attendedFujian Normal University and graduated in 1978 with a degree in political economics.[2][3] Afterwards, he stayed in the university as an official in its CCP committee, working there until 1983.[2]
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.[2] 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.[2]
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.[2] In September 1996 Cai took on his first major role in local government as the deputy CCP secretary and later 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.[2][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]
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 of Hangzhou, 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.[4]
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. He made the announcement of his change in jobs on hisTencent Weibo account before the official media's announcement was made.[5]
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.[6][7] Given his Zhejiang work experience and his current position and seniority, Cai has been named as a member of the so-called "New Zhijiang Army", i.e., officials who at one point worked under Xi Jinping during his term as Zhejiang party secretary.[8]
After his transfer to Beijing, Cai stopped updating his various social media accounts. The only indication of his whereabouts appeared in news footage at numerous "study sessions" of theCCP Politburo, where he was shown seated next to other minister-level officials, suggesting that he was an official of full provincial-ministerial rank and working for the central party organization. It was later confirmed that he was serving as deputy director of the Office of the National Security Commission.[9]
On 31 October 2016, Cai was appointed actingmayor of Beijing, replacingWang Anshun.[9] In December 2016, in response to rising house prices, he said the municipal government would “make sure” prices will “not rise” in 2017.[10] 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.[11]
He was formally appointed as mayor by the Beijing Municipal People's Congress on 20 January 2017.[12] He was also appointed as thedeputy CCP committee secretary of Beijing.[2] In February 2017, he became the head of a leading group in Beijing to ensure that the military stopped providing paid services.[13] 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.[14]
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.[15] 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.[16]
In 2017, early in his tenure, Cai came under controversy due to the forceful eviction of many migrant workers from Beijing.[17] At a leaked video of a speech he made a day after fires in southern Beijing on 18 November, Cai said "some should have been cleared long ago, but that’s difficult, so no one dared to do it", referring to unapproved dwellings. Afterwards, he publicly took a more conciliatory tone warning against “oversimplified” and “hasty” evictions.[17]
During his tenure, Cai Qi promoted green development, particularly environmental protection, in Beijing. He also devoted work to national security issues, especially cybersecurity.[2] In June 2020, Cai was appointed to lead the team charged with the elimination ofcoronavirus in theXinfadi market.[18]
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,[19] as well as during theclosing ceremony.[20] He was awarded theGold Olympic Order after the Olympics.[21]
Following the 1st 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 secretary of theCCP Secretariat.[22][23] In March 2023, he became the director of theCCP General Office, succeedingDing Xuexiang; this made him the first General Office director that's also member of the Politburo Standing Committee sinceWang Dongxing.[24]
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Cai was revealed as a deputy head of the CCP National Security Commission in May, the first time one of the deputy heads was someone other than the premier or the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.[25] 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. Cai has also frequently accompanied Xi on trips, responsible for arranging his security, schedule and daily affairs.[25] Currently, Cai Qi is seen as one of the most powerful people in China, comparable to PremierLi Qiang and only behind CCP General SecretaryXi Jinping. Some even called Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, and Cai Qi as Gang of three, similar toCCP ChairmanMao Zedong,MarshalLin Biao and Mao'swifeJiang Qing in late 1960s and early 1970s.[26][27]
He spoke at the annual National Propaganda Ministers Work Conference (NPMWC) in January 2023, where he called on officials to usecore socialist values, improve foreign propaganda work, and upholdXi Jinping Thought andTwo Establishes and Two Upholds.[28] In August, Cai hosted 57 scientists at the “forefront of domestic technology” inBeidaihe.[29] In October, Cai held a National Conference on Propaganda, Ideology, and Cultural Work, where the CCP put forward theXi Jinping Thought on Culture.[30] At the January 2024 annual NPMWC, Cai called on propaganda officials to "strengthen positive publicity and public opinion" and "sing loudly about China’s bright economic prospects".[31] In August 2024, he hosted leading scientists from artificial intelligence, quantum physics, deep-sea exploration and aerospace sectors in Beidaihe.[32]
In January 2025, he called on officials to "adhere to the correct orientation of public opinion, strengthen economic promotion and management of expectations, improve the ability to respond to public opinion, and create a united and progressive mainstream public opinion" as well as "consolidate and strengthen mainstream ideological opinion, promote socialist core values, deepen reform of the cultural system and mechanisms, and build a more effective international communication system" at the annual NPMWC conference.[33]
Cai is known for his extensive use of social media and his unorthodox approach to governance.[7] Cai has referred to Xi as "Xi Dada" (Uncle Xi) and "Boss Xi" in public media.[34]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."[35] Cai is said to have been a fan ofKevin Spacey'sHouse of Cards TV serial, and was cited as a fan of theiPhone product.[36]
Cai maintains aWeibo microblog account under the subtitle "Cai Qi, aBolshevik",[37][34] which has been active since May 2010. 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.[34] He used it regularly to communicate with citizens.[38] As a sub-provincial-level official Cai was one of the highest-ranking officials to maintain a regular social media presence.[39] 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.[39] Cai has stated of theCCP that:[40]
We need to learn and get used to work in a 'glass room'. Weibo is a direct way to the grassroots which can help us to know what people want and think. My Weibo can partly solve the misunderstanding between people and government by solving their problems and sincerely talking to them.
On the evening of 14 September 2013, a mother of an ordinary government staffer working for the national revenue agency posted on her microblog feed that her son was expected to partake in heavy drinking with superiors on a regular basis as part of his work and that it was affecting his health. The mother pleaded for attention to the case by then Zhejiang party organization chief Cai Qi. A day later Cai responded to her asking which department her son worked at and vowed publicly "your son doesn't have to drink from now on."[41][34]
During his four years of using Weibo, he averaged more than six posts a day, which he compiled into a book called "A Room Made of Glass", saying he choose the title to promote transparency. He spoke about sensitive political topics in China, saying it was a "shame" theFacebook couldn't be accessed in China, and talking about the conviction of Ingo Heinrich, an East German body guard who was convicted after shootingChris Gueffroy for trying to escape theBerlin Wall.[36] He also broke conventions, announcing his promotion as the deputy director of the Office of the National Security Commission through Weibo, before the Chinese state media reported on it.[16] He stopped posting on Weibo after his transfer to Beijing in March 2014.[16]
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.[2]
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 | 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 |
