A sudden exit: Why Shenzhen replaced its mayor 100 days before APEC?

(Edited and refined by Bai Kelei, with the assistance of AI translation.)

As preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen this November enter their final stretch, the host city has changed its mayor at the last minute.

On 24 August, the standing committee of the Shenzhen People’s Congress appointed 53-year-old Li Yun as vice-mayor and acting mayor, replacing Qin Weizhong, 55, who resigned “due to a change in work assignment”.

This is the second major reshuffle of Shenzhen’s leadership within five months. In March, 56-year-old Jin Lei, a member of the standing committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s Sichuan Provincial Committee and head of its Organisation Department, was transferred to Guangdong as a member of its provincial party committee’s standing committee and party secretary of Shenzhen.

The rise of Qin Weizhong

After Meng Fanli, Shenzhen’s previous party secretary, was promoted to Guangdong governor last October, the top post in the southern Chinese economic powerhouse had been vacant for months. There was speculation that Qin, who had worked alongside Meng in Shenzhen, would be promoted from mayor to succeed him as party secretary. But Meng continued concurrently as Shenzhen’s party secretary until Jin took office.

The speculation was not without basis. Born in 1971, Qin has an impressive resume. A high achiever at Tsinghua University, he studied for his undergraduate and master’s degrees at its Department of Chemical Engineering from 1988 to 1996.

Qin also crossed paths at the university with Chen Xi, a former member of the CCP Politburo and head of CCP’s Central Organisation Department, who stepped down as president of the Central Party School in June. Chen, a graduate of Tsinghua’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, began teaching at the university in the 1980s and rose through its ranks to become party secretary before leaving for a political career in 2008.

Public information shows that during Qin’s time at Tsinghua, Chen served in various roles such as a member of the university party committee’s standing committee, head of its Student Affairs Department, Communist Youth League secretary, deputy party secretary of the Department of Chemical Engineering, and deputy party secretary of the university.

After graduating with a specialisation in polymer materials, Qin spent more than two decades in the petrochemical industry, working at Sinopec and PetroChina. During that time, he completed part-time postgraduate studies at Tsinghua’s Department of Chemical Engineering and obtained a doctorate in engineering.

In 2019, Qin moved from the corporate sector into local party and government administration, becoming a vice-governor of Guangdong. Two years later, he was appointed Shenzhen mayor. At that time, he was the city’s first mayor born in the 1970s and the youngest top government official among China’s sub-provincial cities. At the CCP’s 20th National Congress in 2022, Qin was elected an alternate member of its Central Committee.

By the first half of this year, Qin had served five years as Shenzhen mayor, working under two party secretaries, Wang Weizhong and Meng. Promoting him to party secretary would have offered continuity and experience, but he was unexpectedly passed over.

Even more surprisingly, Qin resigned as Shenzhen mayor just five months later and was replaced by Li Yun, a Guangdong vice-governor who left the financial sector and only entered the local party and government administration in March 2025. As of 26 August, the authorities had not disclosed whether Qin would be promoted, transferred laterally or moved to a less prominent role. [NB: It was announced on 28 August that Qin was moved from Shenzhen’s mayoralty to the Guangdong People’s Congress Standing Committee, a position with considerably less executive power.]

As a special economic zone, Shenzhen holds a pivotal position in China. It has long been a window for the country’s reform and opening up, and in recent years has become a hub for technological innovation. Over the past decade, Shenzhen has consistently ranked third among Chinese cities by economic size, behind only Shanghai and Beijing. Officials given important roles in Shenzhen are often seen as having promising political careers, and barring disciplinary or legal issues, usually stand a good chance of further advancement.

If Qin is not promoted after stepping down as Shenzhen mayor, it would suggest a setback in his political career. Even a subsequent posting to the People’s Congress or Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference system would invite speculation. As a sub-provincial-level official and alternate member of the Central Committee, the 55-year-old is far from retirement age. If Qin is moved aside, it would indicate that he has lost the confidence of the senior leadership, even if he did not land in trouble.

Qin’s predecessor, Chen Rugui, followed such a trajectory. After resigning as Shenzhen mayor in April 2021, he became vice-chairman of the Guangdong People’s Congress Standing Committee. The following year, authorities announced that he was under investigation for serious violations. In 2024, Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment.

High stakes for APEC summit

Qin’s resignation comes as preparations for the Shenzhen APEC summit enter their final 100 days. As China’s most important diplomatic event on home ground this year, it receives close attention from the senior leadership. US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are both expected to attend. The leaders of China, the US and Russia may well appear together in Shenzhen, and the city could even host a US-Russia summit or a historic trilateral meeting among the three leaders.

Replacing a mayor who is highly familiar with Shenzhen affairs and had participated in the summit’s early planning at such a juncture is highly unusual. However, with the CCP’s 21st National Congress due to be held next year, its senior leadership has clearly seen a need for this round of organisational adjustments. It is both an early personnel move for the congress and a political signal that seeks to reduce the risks of further changes later.

According to the Southern Daily, the third provincial-municipal joint meeting on preparations for the APEC meetings was held in Shenzhen on 11 August to mobilise efforts for a final push. The meeting stressed the need to enhance political alignment, remain steadfast in achieving success, and treat the flawless organisation of the meetings “as a concrete action in practising the ‘Two Upholds’”.

Before taking office as Shenzhen’s acting mayor, Li also pledged to “cement his political loyalty and maintain a steadfast political stance”, and firmly establish and put into practice a correct view of performance evaluation.

For Li, the newly appointed acting mayor, and Jin, Shenzhen’s recently installed party secretary, ensuring the smooth staging of the APEC summit at the end of the year is their foremost political assignment and will be their greatest achievement. As for Qin, he has been relegated to an outsider, at least for this globally watched event.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “APEC前深圳连换‘一二把手’”.

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