New Zhijiang Army

The New Zhijiang Army (simplified Chinese: 之江新军; traditional Chinese: 之江新軍; pinyin: Zhījiāng Xīnjūn) is a term used by observers to represent political figures in the Communist Party of China who held important provincial and local posts during Xi Jinping's term as Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang province. The "new army" refers to people who were closely associated with Xi and identifies with his political views, and who have since then taken on prominent political posts at the provincial level or in central party and state organs.

New Zhijiang Army 之江新军
Leader	Xi Jinping
Founded	2002
Headquarters	Beijing & Hangzhou
Newspaper	Sing Pao Daily News in Hong Kong
Ideology	Chinese communism Socialism with Chinese characteristics Xi Jinping Thought Chinese Dream Belt and Road Initiative China 2025 Populism Souverainism Chinese nationalism Neo-nationalism
Politics of China Political parties Elections

The term was first widely used by Ma Haoliang (马浩亮), editor at Hong Kong-based newspaper Ta Kung Pao in an article entitled the New Zhijiang Army of Chinese Politics. The term Zhijiang refers to the Qiantang River, which runs through the province, but is often used as a poetic reference for the greater Zhejiang region. The term was initially used as title to Xi Jinping's book Zhijiang Xinyu (之江新语), a book compiling the political philosophies of Xi Jinping during his five-year term as party chief of Zhejiang, published in 2007.[1]

The people close to Xi Jinping have also been referred to as 習家軍 Xí Jiājūn (“Xi clan”).[2][3]

Suggested members

Name	Born	Office held in Zhejiang during Xi's term	Office held at present
Cai Qi 蔡奇	December 1955	Party Secretary of Quzhou, Party Secretary of Taizhou	Party Secretary of Beijing
Huang Kunming 黄坤明	November 1956	Mayor of Huzhou Party Secretary of Jiaxing	Head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China
Chen Derong 陈德荣	March 1961	Mayor of Jiaxing	Chief executive of China Baowu Steel Group
Bayanqolu 巴音朝鲁	October 1955	Party Secretary of Ningbo	Party Secretary of Jilin province
Lou Yangsheng 楼阳生	October 1959	Party Secretary of Lishui	Party Secretary of Shanxi province
Xia Baolong 夏宝龙	December 1952	Deputy Party Secretary of Zhejiang	Vice chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
Li Qiang 李强	July 1959	Secretary-General of Zhejiang Party Committee	Party Secretary of Shanghai
Chen Min'er 陈敏尔	September 1960	Director of Zhejiang provincial party Propaganda Department	Party Secretary of Chongqing
Ying Yong 应勇	November 1957	Director of Supervision Department, Zhejiang President of Zhejiang High Court Deputy Secretary of Zhejiang Discipline Inspection Commission	Communist Party Secretary of Hubei
Zhong Shaojun 钟绍军	1968	Xi's chief of staff	Senior Colonel of the People's Liberation Army Deputy Director of the General Office of the Central Military Commission
Li Xi 李希	1956		Communist Party Secretary of Guangdong
Chen Xi 陳希	September 1953		Head of the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China
He Lifeng 何立峰	February 1955		Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission
Shu Guozeng 舒國增	1956

Others

Other politicians have been named by Chinese-language media as associates of Xi Jinping. They have known or worked under him as a result of their regional tenures in Shaanxi province (Xi's "home province"), the southeast (Zhejiang and Fujian provinces), or through Tsinghua University, where Xi spent time in his youth. Those named include Li Zhanshu, Liu He, Chen Xi, He Yiting, Wang Xiaohong, Li Shulei, and Huang Xingguo (since disgraced). In the military, Liu Yuan, Zhang Youxia, and Liu Yazhou have been named as some of Xi's top associates.[4]

See also

• Tuanpai
• Shanghai clique

References

1. Ma, Haoliang (29 December 2014). "中国政坛的"之江新军"". Ta Kung Po via Mingjing. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
2. ""習近平智囊走出幕後'習家軍'全面亮相 Xi Jinping zhinang zouchu muhou 'Xi Jiajun' quanmian liangxiang (The brain trust of Xi Jinping. Going behind the scenes. The 'Xi clan' fully revealed)"". 新唐人電視臺 Xintangren dianshitai. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
3. 楊 Yang, 光 Guang. ""習近平的山頭主義用人路線 Xi Jinping de shantou zhuyi yongren luxian (The cliquish cadre promotion line of Xi Jinping)"". Retrieved 22 September 2017.
4. Reuters via Deutsche Welle