Will Wang Qishan become Xi Jinping’s go-to man as Chinese vice-president?

Other than Xi Jinping, perhaps no other Chinese Communist Party official draws as much attention from the outside world as Wang Qishan. Even though he has retired, there remains much speculation about his future.

Late last month, Wang was included in the roster of Hunan legislators who will attend the national legislature meeting in March. The news appears to confirm speculation that he would take up a key post at the annual “two sessions”. Just weeks after he stepped down from the powerful Politburo Standing Committee at the 19th party congress last October, some in the media are speculating that the former anti-corruption chief will soon be named China’s vice-president.

Whether or not Wang is made vice-president, it is rare for a retired official to become a deputy to the National People’s Congress.

Such speculation should be understood in the context of the leadership reshuffle at the 19th party congress and the party’s changing political ecology over the past five years. Xi has ushered in a new ecology in party politics with his sweeping anti-corruption campaign, and Wang, as the one helming the campaign, turned the anti-graft drive into a weapon for instilling party cadres’ loyalty to Xi. By doing so, he gained Xi’s trust.