Xi's Successor Battle: Cai Qi Quietly Grabs Power, Li Qiang Watched Even in Bed

Cai Qi's Growing Influence

• 💡 The Chinese Communist Party's top leadership is reportedly operating with "two central authorities": Xi Jinping and Cai Qi, who controls the flow of information to Xi and the execution of Xi's directives.
• 🚀 Cai Qi's son, Cai Erjin, was strategically promoted to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), a powerful body within the State Council, effectively placing a "surveillance device" in Li Qiang's power base.
• 📌 Cai Qi holds 21 concurrent positions, including director of the central office and vice chairman of the National Security Commission, giving him control over nearly all key levers of power within the CCP.

Marginalization of Premier Li Qiang

• ⚠️ Premier Li Qiang is described as the "most humiliated premier" in CCP history, having lost privileges like state aircraft for overseas travel and press conferences, which were standard practice for decades.
• 📊 The State Council, Li Qiang's domain, has been effectively reduced to an administrative office of the party's central committee, making Li Qiang's role akin to a chief secretary.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Cai Qi maintains close surveillance over Li Qiang through his secretary-general, Wu Jianglong, and has reportedly used sensitive personal information (ancestral grave, family corruption rumors) as leverage.

Cai Qi's Ruthless Tactics

• 🎯 Cai Qi used the crackdown on the popular card game "Guandan" and an "official alcohol ban" as pretexts to target Li Qiang and the Jiangsu faction, causing significant economic disruption.
• 🔥 After 2016, Cai Qi abandoned his "friendly uncle" persona, becoming a "sharp blade" who demonstrated loyalty to Xi Jinping through brutal policies.
• 🏙️ He orchestrated the expulsion of Beijing's "low-end population" in freezing conditions and the "brightening the skyline" campaign, which involved tearing down thousands of shop signs, earning him a reputation as a brutal official.

Cai Qi's Unprecedented Power

• ⚡ Cai Qi's influence extends to overseas intelligence operations, as he was reportedly suspected by British prosecutors of involvement in an espionage case concerning the theft of intelligence from the British Parliament.
• 🛡️ He controls the Central Guard Bureau, responsible for protecting and monitoring all top CCP leaders, and the Central Health Care Commission, which manages medical resources for senior officials.
• 🔑 By controlling party power, personnel, information, security, ideology, and even the daily lives of top officials, Cai Qi effectively has the CCP's machinery under his grip, making him the de facto number two figure.

Xi Jinping's Reliance and Cai Qi's Peril

• 🤝 Xi Jinping relies on Cai Qi to concentrate supreme power and realize his dream of lifelong rule, as his base of support has narrowed.
• 🌋 Despite his immense power, Cai Qi is seen as sitting on a "volcano," having flattered only Xi and offended countless other officials, making him the primary target for anti-Xi forces if Xi Jinping were to fall.