Li Xi (born 1956)

Li Xi (Chinese: 李希; pinyin: Lǐ Xī; born October 1956) is a Chinese politician. He is a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China and the current Communist Party Secretary of Guangdong province. Li spent much of his career in northwestern China, and served as the party chief of the revolutionary base of Yan'an. He then served as the deputy party chief of Shanghai, then Governor of Liaoning province, then promoted to party secretary.^[1][2]

Career

Li Xi was born in October 1956 in Liangdang County, Gansu province. He joined the work force in July 1975 and became a member of the Communist Party of China in January 1982. He graduated from Northwest Normal University. He started his career working as an ordinary functionary in the provincial propaganda department of the Gansu party organization. He worked in multiple positions in Gansu, including Party Secretary of Xigu District of the provincial capital Lanzhou, Deputy Party Secretary of Lanzhou, and Party secretary of Zhangye prefecture.^[2]

In 2006, Li became the Party secretary of Yan'an in neighbouring Shaanxi province. Yan'an is of special significance to the Communist Party as it is the site of Mao's revolutionary base after the end of the Long March. In 2011, he was transferred to Shanghai to serve as the Director of the municipality's Organization Department, and later Deputy Party Chief. In 2014, he was transferred again to Liaoning province in Northeast China, and was appointed Acting Governor and Deputy Party Chief of the province, replacing outgoing governor Chen Zhenggao.^[1] He was confirmed by the provincial legislature as Governor later that year. In May 2015, he succeeded Wang Min as Communist Party Secretary of Liaoning, becoming first-in-charge of the province.^[3]

At the 19th Party Congress, Li Xi was named a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China. On October 28, 2017, shortly after the party congress, Li was transferred to take over the politically important southern province of Guangdong from Hu Chunhua as provincial party chief.^[4]

Li is an alternate member of the 17th and the 18th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China, and a full member of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.^[1]

References