Beijing5 minutes ago
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For many years, an official has been seen accompanying Chinese President Xi Jinping on foreign tours and major meetings. Sometimes he was seen standing behind Xi and sometimes he was seen sitting in the meeting with him. But China has never publicly revealed who it is and what responsibilities it holds. Now his identity has come to light.
US President Trump organized a special dinner in America last week in honor of Xi Jinping. The White House released the list of Chinese guests included in this. From this list, Zhou Hongshu’s name and his position appeared for the first time.
Hongshu has been described as the director of the Central Guard Bureau. This department protects the President and other big leaders of China. Zhou was also present during the meeting of Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi this month.
During Xi Jinping’s visit to India, Zhou Hongshu was sitting between two vice ministers of China’s Foreign Ministry. Despite his presence, China’s state media did not reveal his identity at that time.
Been seen with Xi for years, but name not disclosed
Very little information about Zhou Hongshu is public even in China. Complete records of his education, initial job and old posts have not been revealed.
The 20th major national meeting of the Communist Party of China was held in 2022. In this, Zhou Hongshu was mentioned among the Congress representatives. But his complete profile was not made public even then.
Former Chinese party official Deng Youwen told CNN that based on public records, Zhou is probably the first top security official to appear consistently at such major diplomatic events.
After all, why is this officer’s job so secret?
The Central Guard Bureau is one of China’s most secretive security agencies. It protects China’s top leaders. Apart from this, it is also related to the security of Beijing’s Zhongnanhai complex. Top leaders of China and senior officials of the Communist Party work in this complex.
China’s state media has described this bureau as an extraordinary institution linked to both the police and the army. The trust of the top leadership of the country is considered very important for the officers working here.
For this reason, very little information about the officers of this organization is available to the common people. Especially the information about those officials who are directly related to Xi Jinping’s security and programs remains even more limited.
Seen with Xi on different occasions since 2018
Records of Zhou’s existence go back several years. In 2018, he was seen with the then Central Guard Bureau chief Wang Shaojun during the inspection of the Northern Theater Command of the Chinese Army. Both of them were wearing military uniform at that time.
In 2019, when Xi Jinping met the then President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari in Kathmandu, Zhou was seen sitting behind her.
He was also seen with Xi during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference held in San Francisco in 2023.
Due to these occasions, it has been speculated that Zhou’s past career may have been related to the Chinese Army i.e. PLA. However, official information about his old posts has not been revealed.
The death of the officer before Zhou also remained a mystery.
Before Zhou, the director of the Central Guard Bureau was Wang Shaojun. He died in April 2023.
Chinese government media had given information about his death after about three months. The cause of death was attributed to some disease, but the name of the disease was not disclosed.
It was only after his death that state media officially reported for the first time that Wang was the director of the Central Guard Bureau. After this, the name of his successor was not publicly announced.
The history of this bureau is linked to Mao’s bodyguard.
The Central Guard Bureau was established in 1950. Its roots go back to the era of China’s civil war.
Its first head was Wang Dongxing. He was among Mao Zedong’s personal bodyguards.
Wang Dongxing later became vice chairman of the Communist Party and a member of the party’s Politburo Standing Committee.
In 2014, an article in China’s state media reported that the Central Guard Bureau comes under the structure of China’s Ministry of Public Security and is also called Bureau 9. However, it operates separately from the ministry and answers to the top leadership.
Keeping an eye on Zhou before the next party congress
The 21st National Congress of the Communist Party of China is scheduled to be held in October next year. This is a big meeting held every five years, in which there can be changes in the top leadership of the party.
Many current senior leaders will then be over 70 years of age. These also include China’s top diplomat Wang Yi, who will turn 73 next year.
In such a situation, the role of youth officers of the party will also be kept under watch. Zhou’s recent public appearances are also being seen in this context.
However, it is too early to say what position he will get next or how much his responsibility will increase.
Apart from Zhou, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, Foreign Ministry protocol chief Hong Lei and Xi Jinping’s personal secretary Lu Luhua were also present at the White House banquet.
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