Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in New Delhi on Saturday for the 18th BRICS Summit, accompanied by two of the most influential figures in his political and foreign-policy establishment — Cai Qi and Wang Yi.
Cai, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, is one of Xi’s closest confidants. Wang, China’s foreign minister, has been at the centre of Beijing’s foreign policy for more than a decade.
Their presence alongside Xi assumes significance as the Chinese president returns to India after seven years, at a time when New Delhi and Beijing are cautiously working to stabilise ties after years of tensions. The Chinese premiere is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the summit.
Cai Qi: The ‘de facto chief of staff’
At 70, Cai occupies a key position in the ruling party’s organisational and administrative machinery and is among Chinese President Xi Jinping’s closest political allies. As director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, he oversees a powerful party apparatus and plays a central role in Xi’s administration.
Reuters has described Cai as Xi’s “de facto chief of staff” and one of the Chinese president’s closest confidants.
The two have longstanding ties dating back to their overlapping careers in the provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang. Cai’s rise within the Communist Party accelerated in 2017, when he joined the then 25-member Politburo, the party’s second-highest decision-making body, as Xi began his second term as Communist Party leader.
His influence has expanded further in recent years. In June this year, Cai was appointed head of the CPC Central Party School and the National Academy of Governance.
Wang Yi: Xi’s foreign policy point man
Wang Yi, meanwhile, has been one of China’s longest-serving foreign ministers in recent memory. A 2022 New York Times article described Wang as the “campaigner” for Xi Jinping’s “global ambitions”.
Appointed foreign minister in 2013, Wang has remained a prominent figure in China’s engagement with the world and currently holds several key positions within the country’s political and foreign policy establishment.
Wang is currently a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs and minister of foreign affairs.
A native of Beijing and a member of the Han ethnicity, Wang was born in October 1953. He joined the Communist Party of China in May 1981 and is married with a daughter.
