Xi loyalist Li re-elected as Shanghai Communist Party chief

While Li has long been seen as a candidate for elevation to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, some political analysts have speculated over whether Shanghai's bruising two-month COVID-19 lockdown this year would dim his chances for promotion to China's top decision-making body. Li was Xi's secretary in the mid-2000s when Xi was the provincial party chief of Zhejiang, and is widely seen as a Xi loyalist.

Li Qiang, a trusted ally of Chinese President Xi Jinping, was re-elected as Shanghai's Communist Party chief on Tuesday, the city said. Li, 62, has since 2017 been the top official of China's largest city and a member of China's ruling Communist Party Politburo, a powerful 25-person body.

It remains to be seen if Li will be promoted when the party undergoes a leadership reshuffle at the once-in-five-years congress set to take place later this year, when Xi is expected to secure a precedent-breaking third term as top leader. While Li has long been seen as a candidate for elevation to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, some political analysts have speculated over whether Shanghai's bruising two-month COVID-19 lockdown this year would dim his chances for promotion to China's top decision-making body.

Li was Xi's secretary in the mid-2000s when Xi was the provincial party chief of Zhejiang, and is widely seen as a Xi loyalist.