China's Second Most Powerful Man Is Not Retiring (Updated)

Picture: China's President Xi Jinping (R) speaks to Wang Qishan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) during the preparatory meeting of the annual session of China's parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 4, 2015. REUTERS/China Daily

Reuters: New task for old ally of China's President Xi suggests bigger role ahead

BEIJING (Reuters) - China implied on Monday a new job could be in the offing for Wang Qishan, the powerful former top graft-buster and a close ally of President Xi Jinping, with an announcement that he had been chosen as a delegate to the annual meeting of parliament.

Wang stepped down from the seven-man Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of power in China, during a leadership reshuffle in October at the end of the once-in-five-years Communist Party Congress, amid intense interest in whether he would leave the post.

Aged 69, Wang had reached the age at which top officials tend to retire, but sources with ties to the leadership have told Reuters Xi could keep him on in some capacity, thanks to his loyalty and history of successfully tackling tough issues such as corruption.

Wang has been appointed a delegate to the largely rubber stamp parliament from the southern province of Hunan, according to a notice on the official Hunan Daily’s WeChat account that lists all the province’s parliamentary delegates.

Wang was previously a parliamentary delegate from the Chinese capital, Beijing.

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WNU Editor: Cannot say that I am surprised .... China's Second Most Powerful Man Is 'Not Retiring' (December 1, 2017). This appointment is also a sign to me that Chinese President Xi has not found anyone else to replace Wang Qishan .... or to put it bluntly .... he does not trust anyone else.