Remember Wang Qishan?

A key ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping, he's one of the Chinese leaders that met Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last month in Beijing.

No longer on Party Central Committee

According to a list published by the official Xinhua News Agency at the end of the 19th Party Congress on Tuesday (Oct. 24), his name was absent from the Chinese Communist Party's new central committee, confirming his retirement from the apex of the Chinese leadership -- the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC).

This suggests that Xi has chosen to adhere to an informal retirement rule in place since 2002.

There were media speculations about 69-year-old Wang -- often described as the "second-most powerful" politician in China, staying on, in spite of the informal rule requiring that anyone 68 or older step down,

Unclear if he will get a different appointment

As the head of the anti-corruption watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), Wang was officially No. 6 in the party hierarchy during Xi's first term.

Given that he has rarely met foreign visitors over the last five years, his meeting with PM Lee and American President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon last month, just weeks before the opening of the party congress, had sparked intense speculation about his political future.

Some political observers think it is unlikely Wang will go into full retirement, given his wealth of political experience and influence. But it is not immediately clear what new role might Xi carve out for his ally outside of the PSC.

Xinhua reported that the line-up of the new 25-member Politburo and the top leaders serving on the PSC, will finally be endorsed on Wednesday (Oct. 25) morning by the party’s newly appointed Central Committee. The new team of PSC leaders will then meet the press.

Top photo from MCI

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