Li Zhanshu

Li Zhanshu (born August 30, 1950) is a Chinese retired politician, who was the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2018 to 2023.

Li was born in Pingshan County, Hebei province on August 30, 1950.

He became a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1975.

He started his career as an ordinary functionary in the capital of his home province, Shijiazhuang, working as an office worker for the Shijiazhuang commercial bureau and the Shijiazhuang party committee.

In 1980, Li studied night school at Hebei Normal University.

After graduating, he was promoted to Party Secretary of Wuji County (at around the same time, the party chief of neighbouring Zhengding County was Xi Jinping, current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party).

For the next decade, Li took on progressively senior roles in Hebei province, including deputy party chief and Commissioner of Shijiazhuang prefecture (not equivalent to mayor), head of the provincial Communist Youth League organization, Commissioner of Chengde prefecture, member of the Party Standing Committee of Hebei and Secretary-General of the provincial party committee.

In 1998, Li was transferred to Shaanxi province to serve on its party leadership council and become the head of its provincial Organization Department.

Beginning in January 2002, Li became the Party Secretary of Xi'an.

In May, he concurrently took on the role of deputy party chief of Shaanxi province.

During his term in Xi'an, Li was known to have set the goal for Xi'an to become the "best city in the western interior".

In December 2003, Li became Deputy Party Secretary of Heilongjiang, and assumed the post of Vice Governor about a year later.

At the time, outside observers classified Li as a member of the Tuanpai, i.e., officials with a background in the Communist Youth League.

On December 25, 2007, then Governor Zhang Zuoji resigned, and Li took over as acting Governor, confirmed in January 2008.

In August 2010, Li became the Party Secretary of Guizhou province, taking on his first role in the top office of a province.

At the time, Li was not yet a full member of the Central Committee; it was considered very rare for someone to hold office as a provincial party chief without a full seat on the Central Committee.

In 2012, he became chief of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party.

In July 2012, Li was transferred to Beijing to serve as the executive deputy director of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party, being groomed to replace Ling Jihua.

He assumed office as Director of the General Office two months later.

Three months later, Li was also named Secretary of the Work Committee for Organs Directly Reporting to the Central Committee.

Regarded as a "rising star", Li was elected to the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party at the 18th Party Congress held in November 2012, which was unusual for a General Office Chief (Ling Jihua, for example, was not a member of the Politburo), signalling that Li would hold significant clout under Xi Jinping's administration.

Additionally, as was customary of the general office chief, Li was also named a Secretary of the Central Secretariat.

In 2013, Li was also named chief of the General Office of the newly formed National Security Commission.

Li has played a major role in facilitating a strong relationship between China and Russia, and is the first General Office chief in post-Mao China to have played such an active role in foreign affairs.

For example, in 2015 Li was sent as a "special envoy" of Xi Jinping to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

During the 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade held in Moscow, Li was a member of the Chinese delegation.

Li was known to have accompanied Xi on the leader's various meetings with foreign guests, including on Xi's 2015 state visit to the United States.

Li was an alternate member of the 16th and 17th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party and was a full member of the 18th Central Committee.

He was the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's top decision-making body, between 2017 and 2022.

Li began his political career in rural regions of his native Hebei province, rising through the ranks as the Communist Party Secretary of Xi'an, Governor of Heilongjiang province, and the Party Secretary of Guizhou province.

Li, seen as one of the most influential members of Xi Jinping's inner circle, was considered a "dark horse" candidate for the 19th Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body which took office in 2017.

Li was chosen to be a member of the 19th Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body, at the 1st Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on 25 October 2017.

Following the 18th Party Congress, Li became one of the top advisors to party General Secretary Xi Jinping.

He is regarded by the media as a senior member of "Xi Jinping Clique", one of the main political factions within the Chinese Communist Party.

On March 17, 2018, Li was elected as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

On September 8, 2018, Li acted as special representative to General Secretary Xi Jinping on a visit to North Korea to participate in the 70th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Regarding his work, Li claims to abide by a "three-nos" principle: they are: "no messing around with other people, no playing games, no loafing on the job."

In November 2020, following the expulsion of 4 pro-democracy lawmakers in the Hong Kong Legislative Council, Li defended the expulsion, arguing that the decision was both "necessary" and "appropriate."

In September 2022, during a meeting with senior Russian figures, Li pledged China's "understanding and full support" in Russia's position on the issue of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He said, "given the circumstances, Russia has taken necessary measures. China understands, and we are coordinating on various aspects."