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Beijing mayor Cai Qi officially named capital’s party boss

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Beijing mayor Cai Qi speaks at the opening of the Beijing People’s Congress in Beijing in January. Photo: Reuters

A close ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping has officially been named Communist Party chief of Beijing, setting him up for a seat in the party’s next decision-making Politburo.

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Beijing mayor Cai Qi replaced Guo Jinlong, Xinhua reported on Saturday. Chen Jining, 53, environmental protection minister, was announced as acting mayor.

Two sources in Beijing told the South China Morning Post the ministry vacancy left by Chen would likely be filled by Li Ganjie, 52, a deputy party secretary of Hebei province, who studied nuclear engineering at Tsinghua University in the early 1980s.

Cai, 61, has long been regarded as a close ally of Xi since Cai worked as a prefectural-level official in Zhejiang province, when Xi was its party boss from 2002 to 2007.

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The promotion significantly boosts Cai’s chances of being named to the 25-member Politburo during the five-year leadership turnover due to take place later this year.

Environment minister Chen Jining and now acting Beijing mayor, at the National People’s Congress in Beijing in March. Photo: Simon Song
Environment minister Chen Jining and now acting Beijing mayor, at the National People’s Congress in Beijing in March. Photo: Simon Song
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