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Who are Wang Huning and Ding Xuexiang, the candidates in line to head Communist Party’s Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs?
- Wang Huning or Ding Xuexiang, both Politburo Standing Committee members, could succeed Han Zheng
- Analysts say political clout of a top party leader needed to make decisions and cut through red tape
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This year’s “two sessions” – the annual meetings of the legislature and political advisory body – begin on March 4 and will complete a twice-a-decade leadership transition, with a reshuffle of top government jobs including the premier, and Xi Jinping set to secure a third term as president. In the second of a six-part series on what to expect from this key event, William Zheng looks at what could be in store for Hong Kong and Macau.
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Two senior Communist Party leaders – one tipped to be named a vice-premier and the other head of China’s top political advisory body – are Beijing’s leading candidates to oversee Hong Kong and Macau affairs, analysts said.
They said they would be watching the annual meeting of the national legislature closely for clues as to whether Wang Huning, 67, or Ding Xuexiang, 60, will succeed the retiring Han Zheng, who has filled that role since 2016.
Wang and Ding are both members of the Politburo Standing Committee, the party’s top decision-making body.
Former ideology tsar Wang is expected to succeed Wang Yang as chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference when the advisory body also holds its annual meeting this month.
The CPPCC meeting will begin on Saturday, with the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, to open the next day. The meetings, which usually last around a fortnight, are known as the “two sessions” in China and serve as occasions for the country’s top political leaders to discuss and endorse personnel changes, new laws and policies.
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