New Zhijiang Army


The New Zhijiang Army is a term used by observers to represent political figures in the Communist Party of China who held important provincial and local posts during Xi Jinping's term as Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang province. The "new army" refers to people who were closely associated with Xi and identifies with his political views, and who have since then taken on prominent political posts at the provincial level or in central party and state organs.
The term was first widely used by Ma Haoliang, editor at Hong Kong-based newspaper Ta Kung Pao in an article entitled the New Zhijiang Army of Chinese Politics. The term Zhijiang refers to the Qiantang River, which runs through the province, but is often used as a poetic reference for the greater Zhejiang region. The term was initially used as title to Xi Jinping's book Zhijiang Xinyu, a book compiling the political philosophies of Xi Jinping during his five-year term as party chief of Zhejiang, published in 2007.
The people close to Xi Jinping have also been referred to as 習家軍 Xí Jiājūn.

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Other politicians have been named by Chinese-language media as associates of Xi Jinping. They have known or worked under him as a result of their regional tenures in Shaanxi province, the southeast, or through Tsinghua University, where Xi spent time in his youth. Those named include Li Zhanshu, Huang Xingguo, Liu He, Chen Xi, He Yiting, Wang Xiaohong, Li Shulei, and Li Xi. In the military, Liu Yazhou, Zhang Youxia, and Liu Yuan have been named as some of Xi's top associates.