The fallout from the investigation into former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member Ma Xingrui continues to spread across Xinjiang’s political establishment.
On June 15, China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced that Xu Kai, a standing committee member of the Party committee of Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture and secretary of its Political and Legal Affairs Commission, was under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law,” the standard phrase use in corruption probes involving Chinese officials.
According to public records, the 53-year-old official spent most of his career in China’s remote region of Xinjiang, serving in a range of positions across Bayingolin, including county-level leadership roles, regional economic planning posts, and political-legal affairs positions.
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Xu’s investigation marks the latest disciplinary case involving an official who served in Xinjiang during Ma’s tenure as regional Party secretary. Ma was sacked as Xinjiang Party secretary in July 2025 before Chinese authorities formally announced a formal investigation into him in April 2026.
Falling dominoes
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Since Ma’s ousting, a growing number of officials connected to Xinjiang’s political, legal, and security apparatus have come under scrutiny. Among those investigated over the past year are former Xinjiang Public Security Department traffic police chief Zhang Jianguo, former Justice Department Party secretary Zhang Yun, former Political and Legal Affairs Commission executive deputy secretary Zhang Xiucheng, and former Xinjiang Public Security Department deputy director Mou Zongyi.
Other senior officials investigated include former Urumqi Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary Ma Zhijun, former Xinjiang Political and Legal Affairs Commission deputy secretary Liu Chen, and several officials from the procuratorate and prison administration systems.
The concentration of cases has drawn attention because many involve agencies responsible for security, law enforcement, and political control within the region.
XPCC in hot water
The investigations have not been limited to Xinjiang’s regional government. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a powerful state-run organization that plays a major role in the region’s administration and economic development, has also seen a series of officials investigated. Ma Xingrui simultaneously served as First Political Commissar of the XPCC while leading Xinjiang.
In recent months, authorities have announced investigations involving multiple XPCC officials, including former vice commander Li Xu, former senior executive Wang Shengping, and former Xinjiang Construction Engineering Group chairman Chen Shaomin.
The investigations followed a 2025 inspection by a central CCP inspection team, which spent more than two months reviewing the XPCC’s operations.
Scrutiny extends beyond Xinjiang
The widening scope of investigations has also attracted attention outside Xinjiang. Gao Shiwen, mayor of Nanchang and a former aide to Ma during their time in China’s aerospace sector, has been absent from public view for several months. Earlier this month, Chinese observers noted that Gao’s profile and related records had reportedly been removed from the Nanchang municipal government’s website.
Meanwhile, officials in Ma’s hometown of Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang Province, have also faced disciplinary investigations over the past year. While authorities have not publicly linked these cases to Ma’s investigation, observers have noted the breadth of personnel changes occurring in regions and institutions previously associated with him.
Chinese authorities have released few details regarding the allegations against Ma Xingrui or the full scope of the investigation. However, the continuing stream of disciplinary announcements involving officials from Xinjiang, the XPCC, and other networks connected to the former Politburo member suggests that the probe remains active.
With new cases continuing to emerge, analysts are closely watching whether additional senior officials tied to Ma’s past political and administrative networks will also come under scrutiny in the months ahead.
