The focus of the CCP’s “20th National Congress” next month will be on leadership leading the world’s second largest economy, but another group that has received less attention will also rise to the next level.
They are called “the luckiest generation”: the CCP cadres born in the 1970s. This group escaped the Mao era, which devastated education and the economy, as well as the high unemployment and housing crisis that graduates face today.
At a time when the Chinese economy was taking off, this group of people went to college and made their mark on all walks of life, from finance to commodities. They have gradually accumulated their qualifications in the short window of internet freedom, China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and global mobility.
Currently, more than 100 “post-70” people have held key roles in various provincial ministries and commissions. They will be closer to power when Xi heads for a third term at the 20th Party Congress.
Li Cheng, a scholar of the John Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, said that among the more than 370 members of the next Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, this group will account for about 10%, and most of they will be alternate members.
If Xi Jinping, as widely expected, sets an age limit for everyone (except himself), leaders born in the 1960s will retire within the next decade, paving the way for the post-70 generation to enter the Politburo.
“This is a very important generation and may be more open to the world in due course,” said Victor Shih, an associate professor at the University of California, San Diego.
The time when the “post-70” entered the leadership team will likely be the time when China overtook the United States and became the largest economy in the world.
They are likely to take over as head of key regions and agencies in the second half of the 1920s, and the US military estimates that Xi Jinping will have the ability to attack Taiwan by then. US President Joe Biden this month reiterated that the US military would intervene to protect Taiwan if it faced an unprecedented attack by the Communist Party, raising the stakes for Xi.
Here are five government officials to watch in the Chinese bureaucracy:
Zhuge Yujie, 51 years old
In March of this year, Zhuge Yujie became the youngest deputy secretary of the provincial party committee in China and the right-hand man of Li Qiang, secretary of the Shanghai municipal party committee, confidant of Xi Jinping. Shanghai has always been a stepping stone to the top and Xi Jinping has also served as secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. Zhuge Yujie worked in a state-owned enterprise before entering politics, which is a common career path for “after the 1970s”.
Liu Hongjian, 49 years old
Liu Hongjian was promoted to secretary of the Yunnan Provincial Political and Legal Committee in 2021, becoming the youngest member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee in China. Previously, he worked in Fujian for nearly 20 years, overlapping with Xi Jinping, who served in Fujian from 1985 to 2002. Many of the officials who were promoted during Xi Jinping’s tenure had crossed paths with Xi Jinping in the past. .
Liu Qiang, 51 years old
Before becoming deputy governor of Shandong Province, Liu Qiang worked in the financial sector for 25 years, serving as president of the Shanghai branch of the Agricultural Bank of China and vice president of the Bank of China. In March of this year, he became secretary of the Jinan Municipal Party Committee.
Shi Hui, 52 years old
Shi Hui worked in Shanghai for about 30 years, first at a state-owned steel company and then as a deputy mayor. In April this year he was promoted to deputy secretary of the Guizhou provincial party committee, becoming the second “post-70” leader to serve as deputy secretary of the provincial party committee after Zhuge Yujie.
Guo Ningning, 52 years old
Guo Ningning is one of the few “post-70” female leaders. Before entering the political arena, she was the President of the Bank of China Hong Kong Branch, the President of the Bank of China Singapore Branch and the Vice President of the Agricultural Bank of China. She is now Deputy Governor of Fujian Province and knows the media well. In promoting local seafood in 2020, Guo Ningning brought live goods and ate eels, attracting millions of viewers to Taobao.
(This article is not open to partners for reprint)
–
