The talisman of Xi Jinping's superior

" The Mystery of Xi's Sun Rising " wrote that Xi Jinping came to power mainly because he is the second generation of red and his ability is mediocre, low-key and plain, and acceptable to all factions. This article is about the role of Xi's official talisman-personal network in Xi Jinping's seventeen years in Fujian and 2007, the two most critical moments.

From 1985 to 2002, Xi Jinping floated and sank in the Huanhai Sea in Fujian. In the past seventeen years, Xi has been promoted from the age of 32 to the age of 49, only one year away from the 50-year-old threshold, and has completed the promotion of intermediate-level cadres to provincial-level officials. Later, it was this age advantage that allowed him to defeat his opponent and enter the Politburo of the Central Committee.

In Xi Jinping's early stage, Xi Zhongxun helped a crucial part: after graduation, he was assigned to the Military Commission to be Geng Biao's secretary, from the Military Commission to Hebei, from Hebei to Fujian, and the latter two transfers, allowing Xi to turn the corner. Although Xi Zhongxun has a reputation for being open-minded, he is also eager to protect his calf and use his connections to pave the way for Xi Jinping's career. Why go to Fujian, because the then secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee was Xiang Nan.

Xi Zhongxun and Xiang Nan's father Xiang Yunian are comrades-in-arms. When Xi Zhongxun was the Secretary of the Party Committee of Guanzhong District and Secretary of the Suide Prefectural Committee, Xiang Yunian was the Secretary of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Guanzhong District, the Standing Committee of the Suide Prefectural Committee and the Minister of United Front Work. Therefore, Xiang Nan is also the second generation of red, and has a close relationship with Xi Jinping. When Xiang Nan was the secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee from 1980 to 1985, Xi Zhongxun was a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. He was in charge of the daily work of the Secretariat and of course also led Xiang Nan. In February 1983, Xi Zhongxun went to Fujian to spend the Spring Festival holiday, visiting and inspecting work. He supported Xiang Nan during the Furi storm. Xiang Nan accompanied Xi Zhongxun to inspect various places and traveled to Wuyi Mountain. Xi Zhongxun supported Xiang Nan in the "Report on Fujian's Knowledge" submitted to the Central Committee. Xi Zhongxun asked Xiang Nan to delay his retirement and serve another term. Xi Zhongxun also criticized the behavior of Xiang Nan in the Fujian Provincial Party Committee. And dispatched some cadres to Fujian to support Xiang Nan's work. Xi Jinping was transferred to Xiamen at this time. Later, after Xiang Nan resigned, he specially asked Xi Zhongxun to write a preface to Xiang Yunian's biography and inscribe a tombstone, indicating that the two had a close relationship.

But the situation was unpredictable. In February 1986, Xiang Nan was resigned because of the "Jinjiang counterfeit medicine case" before his second term. Xiang Nan is gone, but Xi Jinping still has a backer in Fujian, namely Jia Qinglin.

Xiang Nan previously served as the director of agricultural machinery and a core team member until the deputy minister of the First Ministry of Machinery. Jia Qinglin has been Xiang's subordinate during this period of time, from a technician to the head of the product management bureau. When Xiang Nan was preparing to establish China National Machinery and Equipment Import and Export Corporation, Jia Qinglin was selected as the general manager. When Xi Zhongxun transferred cadres to Fujian to support Xiang Nan, Xiang named Jia Qinglin, who was the director of Shanxi Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Factory at the time. After Jia arrived in Fujian, he served as a member of the provincial standing committee, deputy secretary and director of the organization, and became the number three person in Fujian Province, paving the way for Jia's future fortune. Jia is a competent person to Xiang, and Xiang is a kindness to Jia. This relationship is also passed on to Xi Jinping.

In 1988, Xi Jinping served as the vice mayor of Xiamen for three years. Due to his poor political performance and reputation, Xi won less than half of the votes in the equal election. Jia Qinglin transferred him to Ningde. Promoted to secretary of the prefectural party committee a year later, and secretary of the Fuzhou municipal party committee three years later, he embarked on a project to renovate the old city, which ran aground amid public outcry. Xi led the construction of Fuzhou Changle Airport, which was seriously over budget. Due to the site selection being too far from the urban area, unscientific decision-making, excessively advanced scale, and imperfect transportation infrastructure, the airport suffered serious losses after it was launched and was on the verge of bankruptcy. During the five-year operation period, the passenger flow and cargo volume only reached 1/3 of the designed scale, the terminal building and airport living area were largely idle, and the cumulative loss reached 1.1 billion yuan. Despite his poor performance, his career was not affected because Jia Qinglin was there to protect him.

The secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee at that time was Chen Guangyi, who belonged to the Chen Yun faction. Chen Guangyi did not like Xi and did not agree with Xi Jinping being a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee. Xi's official career was once again blocked. It was not until Jia Qinglin succeeded Chen Guangyi as Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee in 1993 that Xi Jinping became a member of the Standing Committee of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee, and was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee and Governor three years later. Under Jia Qinglin's push, Xi also entered the waitlist for the 15th Central Committee (but Xi was the last to vote, and Xi was promoted to the Central Committee at the 16th National Congress, and he was still the second to last). Xi Jinping's official career has become clear, and Jia Qinglin is Xi's great nobleman.

Jia Qinglin had a close personal relationship with Xi Jinping when he was in Fujian. When he led the Fujian party and government delegation to Shenzhen to visit and study, he made a special trip to the Xi's house to visit Xi Zhongxun. Jia Qinglin is a Jiang faction, and he has a lot of good words for Xi Jinping in front of Jiang Zemin. Therefore, when Jiang went to Shenzhen to visit Xi Zhongxun in 2000, he said, "You have raised good sons and daughters." In 1999, the central government sent a special plane to pick up Xi Zhongxun to participate in the 50th anniversary event. In the Tiananmen lounge, Jia Qinglin, who had been promoted to the secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee at that time, saw Xi Zhongxun and hurried forward to shake his hand cordially, and said, General Secretary Jiang asked if you were there just now?

2007 was a pivotal year for Xi Jinping. Before the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Central Committee summoned all members of the 16th Central Committee, alternate members, standing members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and provincial party and government leaders to Beijing to meet with minister-level leaders of the Central Committee and the military, and recommend members of the new Central Political Bureau. The conditions for being recommended are that they are not old enough and are at the provincial or ministerial level: Li Keqiang, Xi Jinping, Li Yuanchao, Bo Xilai, Wang Qishan, Wang Yang, Zhang Gaoli, Zhang Dejiang, Zhao Leji, Liu Qibao, Zhang Chunxian and more than a dozen others meet the conditions. The first eight entered the Politburo. Li Keqiang and Xi Jinping were promoted two levels in a row, jumping directly from members of the Central Committee to members of the Politburo Standing Committee, which is very unusual. The successor must be someone acceptable to both Hu Jintao's regimental faction and Jiang Zemin's faction. Li Keqiang, as the regimental faction, still needs a Jiang faction to balance the situation. At that time, the Jiang faction had just lost the general Chen Liangyu, and there was no other candidate, so they had to choose Xi. At that time, the second red generation included Bo Xilai, Li Yuanchao, Wang Qishan, and Xi Jinping. In terms of ability, Xi Jinping is the worst. Wang Qishan is the most capable, but he is only Yao Yilin's son-in-law, and he can only be a deputy. Bo Xilai has a high reputation and good political performance, but he is sharp-edged, aggressive, and envied by people. Although he was elected to the Politburo, he was not established as the heir. Li Yuanchao belongs to the group faction and was not selected. Because of his positions in the major southeastern coastal provinces and Shanghai, Xi was regarded as an insider by the Jiang faction and recommended by Zeng Qinghong as a permanent member. Because Xi is low-key and moderate, he is also accepted by the regiment. Xi was chosen as the rulers, not because of his political achievements, but precisely because of his mediocre ability, low-keyness, lack of characteristics, and acceptable to all factions. Inaction and stupidity make Xi Jinping no threat to the Jiang faction and the Tuan faction. Both factions believe that after he ascends the throne, it is easy to win over. Another resource for Xi Jinping is his connections within the 16th Politburo. Jia Qinglin was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau and Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Wang Zhaoguo, the governor of Xi Jinping's time in Fujian, was a member of the Political Bureau and the Standing Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress. Another Fujian Governor, He Guoqiang, was a member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Secretariat and the Central Committee. The Organization Minister, Zhang Dejiang, Xi Jinping's former boss in Zhejiang, is also on the Politburo. These Fujian gangs and Zhang Dejiang are Xi's connections in the Politburo. Wang Zhaoguo and Xi Zhongxun were colleagues in the Central Secretariat in the 1980s, and the other three were local subordinates under the leadership of Xi Zhongxun in the 1980s. They have a two-level relationship with Xi Jinping and Xi's fathers, and are naturally happy to support Xi in the top position, and actively agree with Zeng Qinghong's motion. Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Wang Zhaoguo, He Guoqiang, etc. supported Xi to the top, and it was also a kind of exchange of interests, in exchange for their own interests to be maintained for a long time, to retire, and their descendants to be prosperous. Sure enough, Xi Jinping fought against corruption after he ascended the throne, and only defeated Zhou Yongkang, Xu Caihou, Guo Boxiong, Ling Jihua and other dissidents, but he did not do any damage to the most corrupt officials who have made a difference.

In the CCP's successor selection system and official selection system, under the competition of interest groups, due to the balance of factions, the exchange of various interests, and the intertwined network of relationships, it is impossible to choose the best, and often the poor. In "A Dream of Red Mansions", the official talisman describes the four giants that cannot be offended. To understand the mystery of the promotion of Chinese officialdom, we must also start from the relationship. The advantage of the second generation of red is the relational resources of the parents. You made my career go well, and I paved the way for your children. Repayment and exchange of interests are the quasi-rules of Chinese officialdom. Another sentence in "A Dream of Red Mansions" is also well said: Except for the two stone lions at the entrance of Zhongnanhai, none of them are clean.