Xi Jinping’s close ally and Minister of Public Security, Wang Xiaohong, has not made a public appearance for 24 days since returning from a visit to Vietnam. Recently, rumors have been widely circulating overseas that something may have happened to him. Some analysts believe that in order to protect his wife Peng Liyuan from being implicated in the Ma Xingrui case, Xi Jinping may have had no choice but to use Wang Xiaohong—who is said to be deeply involved in the Zhang Youxia case—as a bargaining chip.
Ma Xingrui, a member of China’s top leadership body, the CCP Politburo, was officially removed. He was also missing for a long time, absent from multiple CCP meetings, and even failed to send a wreath when several senior CCP figures passed away. He was under investigation for “serious disciplinary and legal violations,” according to an earlier report by Vision Times which said Xi Jinping’s wife, Peng Liyuan was in a close association with Ma and had previously helped him rise rapidly in the party ranks.
Wang Xiaohong disappears from public view after visiting Vietnam
From March 15 to 17, 2026, Wang Xiaohong, a member of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee and Minister of Public Security, along with Defense Minister Dong Jun and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, attended the first ministerial-level meeting of the China–Vietnam “3+3” strategic dialogue mechanism on diplomacy, defense, and public security in Hanoi, according to Chinese state media, CGTN.
After the meeting concluded on March 18, at the opening ceremony of the first “Advanced Training Program for Senior Military Officers” held at the National Defense University on April 8, 2026, Dong Jun was present.
On April 8, Wang Yi met with Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in Beijing. On April 9, Wang Yi visited North Korea and held talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.
Success
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Success
Check your email to complete sign up
Both of these officials have continued to appear publicly as usual. However, from March 18 to April 10, 2026, there have been no reports of Wang Xiaohong attending any public events, indicating that he has been unusually absent from view for 24 days.
Wang Xiaohong also holds another position as a State Councilor of the Chinese Communist Party. By comparison, the other two State Councilors, Wu Zhenglong and Shen Yiqin, have both been active publicly in recent days.
On March 22, 2026, State Council Secretary-General Wu Zhenglong accompanied Premier Li Qiang to attend the opening ceremony of the China Development Forum 2026 Annual Meeting. On March 23, Wu accompanied Xi Jinping and Li Qiang on an inspection tour of the Xiong’an New Area. On April 8, Wu Zhenglong attended a national teleconference on the development of the service sector.
On March 25, 2026, State Councilor and President of the All-China Women’s Federation, Shen Yiqin, met in Beijing with the Chinese delegation to the Milan Winter Paralympics and delivered a speech. On April 1, Shen Yiqin attended and spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Hong Kong Family and Women Development Summit.
From this, it can be seen that aside from Wang Xiaohong, the other two State Councilors have continued normal public activities.
Overseas rumors spread that something has happened to Wang Xiaohong
Recently, rumors about Wang Xiaohong having encountered trouble have been circulating continuously.
On April 8, 2026, a blogger on the X platform named “China News Hotspot” posted that, according to shocking revelations from high-level insiders within the Chinese Communist Party, one of Xi Jinping’s core confidants and current Minister of Public Security, Wang Xiaohong, is suspected of having been secretly placed under control, allegedly linked to chain reactions triggered by the case involving Zhang Youxia within the military.
“It is rumored that Wang Xiaohong—a member of the Secretariat of the 20th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, State Councilor, member of the State Council Party Leadership Group, Minister of Public Security and Party Secretary, Deputy Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Chief Superintendent General of Police, and Deputy Director of the State Council Work Safety Committee—is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.”
“It is rumored that Air Force Commander Chang Dingqiu confessed that over more than 10 years, the Air Force alone misappropriated and embezzled about 600 billion yuan in military funds for the Xi Jinping family. This money was handed over to Wang Xiaohong, who allegedly used the Ministry of Public Security’s Ninth Bureau and its overseas underground intelligence money-laundering network to help transfer hundreds of billions of yuan in assets abroad for Xi’s family.
In addition, Wang Xiaohong is accused of assisting Xi Jinping in the murder of Li Keqiang. Because Wang Xiaohong understood Xi Jinping’s character and knew he had too much sensitive knowledge, he feared he would eventually be discarded as a scapegoat. Therefore, Wang secretly retained evidence of the Xi family’s overseas money laundering as well as evidence related to Li Keqiang’s alleged murder, storing it abroad.
Furthermore, unverified rumours circulating online claim that military intelligence agencies believe Wang Xiaohong has secretly defected to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and is allegedly planning to assassinate Xi Jinping. Other rumours suggest that Wang has been taken away for investigation by the Central Military Commission’s disciplinary body and, as of April 9, had still not been released.
In fact, as early as April 6, a social media submission claimed that a Beijing insider revealed that Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule not only harms those he suspects but also his “contributors” and close allies. Former Vice President Wang Qishan was cited as a typical example, but the most unfortunate, it claimed, would be Wang Xiaohong.
The post alleged that Wang Xiaohong carried out many “dirty tasks” for Xi and knew many secrets about Xi and his family. These secrets, it claimed, became Xi’s greatest concern, leading him to plan to eliminate Wang to silence him. In response, Wang Xiaohong was said to have collected incriminating material about Xi and his circle for self-protection.
On April 7, a report by “CNC Second News Channel” stated that insider leaks from high levels of the Chinese Communist Party claimed that due to the major fallout from the alleged arrest of Zhang Youxia, combined with military backlash and pressure from party elders, Xi Jinping was forced to use Wang Xiaohong as a scapegoat. Wang was reportedly placed under secret control and could be made an example of at any time.
At present, Vision Times has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the above revelations.
U.S.-based Chinese commentator Li Muyang analyzed the situation on his self-media program on Youtube, stating that since March 17, when Wang Xiaohong returned from his visit to Vietnam, he has not participated in any public activities. Such an abnormal situation, he said, is a dangerous signal within the Chinese Communist Party system.
Wang Xiaohong may become a bargaining chip to protect Peng Liyuan
Recently, Politburo member Ma Xingrui was officially announced by the Chinese Communist Party to have “fallen from power.” Outside observers are closely watching whether Peng Liyuan, wife of Xi Jinping, could be implicated, as there have long been rumors that Peng and Ma—both from Shandong—have an unusually close relationship. It has also been rumored that Ma Xingrui’s wife, Rong Li, is a close friend and financial proxy for Peng Liyuan.
Another U.S.-based commentator, Tang Jingyuan, analyzed in his program that it would be difficult for Peng Liyuan and Ma Xingrui to distance themselves from each other. This gives anti-Xi factions within the CCP significant leverage—namely, whether to investigate Peng Liyuan.
He further suggested that if Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli—who are rumored to have been detained—are still alive, Xi Jinping may still have room to negotiate: if Zhang and Liu can achieve a “soft landing,” then Peng Liyuan might as well. However, if Zhang and Liu are already dead, it would pose extreme danger for key Xi allies such as Cai Qi and Wang Xiaohong.
Because Xi Jinping is unlikely to abandon Peng Liyuan, the only figures with sufficient weight to serve as bargaining chips in negotiations with CCP elders—possibly in exchange for Zhang Youxia—would be Cai Qi and Wang Xiaohong. In particular, Wang Xiaohong, who is said to have played a key role in handling Zhang Youxia, holds a relatively lower rank as a Politburo member, whereas Cai Qi is a member of the Politburo Standing Committee.
Tang Jingyuan concluded that, at present, Wang Xiaohong’s situation appears to be the most precarious.
