The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is just over a year away, and like all previous party congresses, the pre-conference period has become the climax of the power struggle within the CPC. Vice Premier Liu He, who has always been regarded as a close friend of Xi Jinping, has recently become a target of foreign media, and even his son has been involved. Some analysts believe that this is clearly a release from political enemies within the Communist Party, but the real target is Xi Jinping.
According to the Financial Times, Liu He’s son, Liu Tianran, has resigned as chairman of his investment company “Tian Yi Zi Teng”, but is still secretly making deals and investing in tech giants Tencent and Jingdong, as required by the Chinese Communist Party.
In April 2017, six months before Liu He was promoted to the Politburo, Liu gave up his chairmanship and then transferred his shares to a senior executive the following year, according to the report. This was allegedly because the Communist government prohibits the children of high-ranking officials from holding management positions in industries overseen by their parents.
However, the report cites sources as saying that even though he resigned as chairman and transferred his holdings, he still secretly conducted transactions for “Tian Yi Zi Teng,” including several lucrative deals involving Chinese tech giants Tencent and Jingdong, suggesting that Liu played a major role in the deals. “The company has grown rapidly over the past five years into a firm with more than 10 billion yuan in assets under management and more than 30 employees in its Beijing and Shanghai offices.
The Financial Times quoted financial industry sources as saying that the CCP “princelings” have been trying to keep a low profile, but have been attracted by financial market interests and have never left the financial market as required.
It is unknown whether the above news is true, and no response has been received from the parties concerned.
Radio Free Asia commented that Tencent, Jingdong and other giants of China’s science and technology enterprises are caught in the whirlpool of China’s “anti-monopoly investigation”, and the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be held next year. The Financial Times has revealed “black materials” about Liu He’s family at this point in time, which has triggered outside suspicions.
Liu He is now 69 years old, and according to the internal personnel rules of the Communist Party of China, he is not expected to move up to the next level, which means he has a good chance to officially retire after the 20th Communist Party Congress next year.
Liu He is said to be Xi Jinping’s confidant and his most important think tank on economic issues, and he was rarely accompanied by another vice premier, Hu Chunhua, who stood next to him during his May 12-14 visit to Henan province.
While Liu He was “absent” from Xi’s trip, the Wall Street Journal reported on May 12 that Beijing was considering replacing its trade negotiator with the United States, with Vice Premier Hu Chunhua replacing Liu He, the original trade representative. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce later denied this. And, on May 15, Liu He, who was in the spotlight, suddenly appeared to chair a conference on science and technology innovation.
In addition, the Internet has recently been abuzz with rumors that Xi Jinping and Liu He have different views on the Cultural Revolution, and a public number on NetEase posted an old article by Liu He from 13 years ago, originally titled “Thirty Years of China’s Economy and Long-term Problems for the Future”. China’s economic growth”. The article summarizes six reasons why China’s economy has grown so fast in the previous 30 years.
Xi Jinping recently led the launch of a new version of the Communist Party’s history, in which the sins of the Cultural Revolution and Mao Zedong were downplayed. Outside commentators believe that Liu He’s article exposes the divide with Xi.
The Financial Times exposed Liu He’s son’s behind-the-scenes investment in Chinese science enterprises for profit, and senior commentator Zheng Zhongyuan analyzed it as another wave of power struggle before the 20th Communist Party Congress, targeting not Liu He but Xi Jinping.
Zheng Zhongyuan said there was a similar situation before the 19th CPC National Congress. The South China Morning Post, controlled by Jack Ma, is not all surnamed Party, but is traditionally considered to be the background of the CPC’s Jiang faction Zeng Qinghong. During a sensitive period of high-level power struggle before the 19th Communist Party Congress, the media outlet reported on the inner workings of the assets of Xi Jinping’s hard-core minister Li Zhanshu’s family in Hong Kong, and then abruptly withdrew the article to apologize, presumably because it had angered the authorities.
Zheng Zhongyuan said, this time the news is ostensibly aimed at Liu He, but in fact is aimed at Xi Jinping, Liu He was about to step down, and Xi Jinping to ensure re-election, although there will be no problem, but need to remove all the murmurs, to avoid the political patriarchs have microscopic comments. If you can’t even control the family members of your sidekick, it will undermine Xi’s authority.
Zheng Zhongyuan also said, in fact, the Chinese Communist Party officialdom is already no official corruption, can not find no problem, once to the period of intense internal strife, often to kill the opportunity. He said Liu He, if true, is still a piece of cake compared to Jiang Zemin, Zeng Qinghong and many powerful families, but his attitude about the Cultural Revolution is still worthy of recognition.
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