Chinese President Xi Jinping's delegation for the 18th Leaders Summit in New Delhi included his 'right-hand man' and one of the most prominent figures in the CCP, Cai Qi.
Cai is the fifth-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, the country’s top decision-making body and the head of the party’s Central Committee General Office, which makes him Xi’s 'de facto chief of staff'. The office is responsible for coordinating the work of the party’s central leadership and managing the flow of information and documents at the top of the party hierarchy.
The 70-year-old is described as the Chinese president's closest political ally.
Cai Qi started his career in polices as deputy CCP secretary, then went on to become the mayor of Beijing before being appointed as a member of the CCP Politburo in 2022.
He was born in 1955 in Fujian province. His political career was similar to Xi Jinping's. He worked in both Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, where Xi also worked early in his career.
In 2016, he became acting mayor of Beijing and served as the executive chairman of the Organising Committee for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The next year, he was formally appointed as mayor and joined the 25-member Politburo, the party second highest decisions making body.
In June this year, he was appointed as the head of the CPC Central Party School and the National Academy of Governance. The Central Party School is responsible for training senior Communist Party officials and plays an important role in political education and ideological work.
He is currently the director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and minister of foreign affairs.
His presence in New Delhi at the BRICS summit may be closely watched due to his position in the political hierarchy and his proximity to the Chinese president.
