President of China Xi Jinping traveled to India’s capital, New Delhi, for the upcoming BRICS Summit, accompanied by Cai Qi, head of the General Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC), who is considered the second most powerful political figure in Beijing’s government structure.
His presence alongside Xi represents an unprecedented concentration of administrative powers and proven political loyalty at the top level of the Chinese state administration.
Breakneck access to Politburo : In 2017, Cai became appointed as a member of the ruling Politburo, which is the second-highest decision-making body in China, shortly after taking up the post of Communist Party chief in Beijing. Cai Qi managed to accelerate significantly his career path in the Chinese Communist Party, thus overcoming the traditional bureaucratic timelines of promotions. Cai’s remit includes ideological training, schedule planning, and control over the machinery of the party’s center. Ideological control : During his first months as a top-level official, Cai became the leader of the Central Party School, the elite educational institution responsible for the development of official ideology and training of young bureaucrats. Diplomacy : Moving out of the shadows of administration, Cai took up roles in diplomacy and welcomed international officials and received foreign delegations in important international summits.
