TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – China watchers are speculating on inner politics of China’s Communist Party (CCP) and the possibility of a future successor to Xi Jinping this week, after the son of former CCP Chairman Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) received a significant promotion last week.



The promotion of Hu Jintao’s son, Hu Haifeng (胡海峰) to a position as head of the the Communist Party Committee of Xi’an (西安) on March occurs almost 16 years after his father was promoted to CCP General Secretary on March 15, 2003.

Hu Haifeng is also set to become a member of the Shaanxi Province (山西省) standing committee of the CCP, according to sources quoted by the SCMP.



The appointment has created speculation that Xi Jinping may be forging a stronger political alliance with the Hu faction of the CCP, reports Liberty Times.

Some analysts suggest the new appointment may indicate that the younger Hu is a potential successor to follow Xi Jinping as the CCP General Secretary, once he decides to give up the chairmanship.



After the controversial constitutional amendment in spring 2018, there is no longer a term limit for how long the CCP Chairman can serve, which means Xi Jinping is not legally obligated to give up his political power at any time.



Hu Haifeng is the current party head of Lishui (麗水), a small city in Zhejiang province.

Observers note that Xi Jinping is from Shaanxi province, and that his own son is too young to take the reins of power as a direct successor, suggesting Xi will have to find the son of a trusted comrade to manage the party in the event Xi chooses to step down.