29 Facts About Chen Wenqing

Chen Wenqing is a Chinese intelligence officer, politician and member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party who currently serves as the secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

Chen Wenqing's father was a police officer at the Sichuan branch of the Ministry of Public Security, where for 20 consecutive years, starting in 1951, the elder Chen was recognized as a Sichuan Province "progressive worker" by Chinese Communist Party officials.

Chen Wenqing studied law and political science at Southwest University in Chongqing from September 1980 through August 1984.

Chen Wenqing returned to school in March 1995, completing a postgraduate program in business management from Sichuan University in October 1997.

From December 1986 to June 1990, Chen Wenqing was Deputy Director and then Director of the Public Security Branch of Wutongqiao District, another district of Leshan.

In 1994, Chen Wenqing was transferred to the Ministry of State Security, becoming deputy director of the Sichuan provincial State Security Department, likely as a founding member of what was a newly established department created in the third of four waves of MSS expansion.

From January 1997 to January 1998, Chen Wenqing was deputy director, deputy secretary and secretary of the Party Leadership Group at the Sichuan SSD.

In January 1998, Chen Wenqing took over leadership of the Sichuan SSD, and secretary of the Party Leadership Group.

Chen Wenqing stayed on as Sichuan SSD head until April 2002, when he was appointed chief prosecutor at the Sichuan provincial People's Procuratorate.

At the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2012, Xi Jinping became General Secretary of the Communist Party, and Chen Wenqing moved to Beijing to become deputy secretary and member of the standing committee of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, both roles he retained until May 2015.

From January 2012 to April 2013, Chen Wenqing served as political commissar of a reserve anti-aircraft artillery division of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force in Fujian province.

Chen Wenqing appointed Tang Chao as a "special agent" to look into claims that Geng had used MSS technical means to monitor the communications of senior communist party officials, including Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping.

Chen Wenqing was appointed Party Secretary of the MSS in October 2016 and Minister of State Security on 7 November 2016.

Chen Wenqing began by investigating and arresting his college friend and MSS counterintelligence head Ma Jian, reportedly as a test to prove his loyalty to the Xi Jinping faction.

In early 2018, Chen Wenqing's MSS was given responsibility for the security of all Belt and Road Initiative projects across 28 participating countries, after a lengthy fight for control against the Ministry of Public Security, CCP security coordinator Meng Jianzhu.

Intelligence Online reported that Chen Wenqing sought to strengthen MSS efforts in island nations that are crossed by the maritime component of the BRI, such as the Seychelles and the Maldives, in an effort to counter Indian influence, and deepen cooperation with the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, key to the MSS' efforts to identify Uyghur jihadists which remain a top concern of senior Chinese officials.

In 2020, Chen Wenqing presided over a meeting of the Party Committee of the MSS regarding implementation of the Hong Kong national security law.

Chen Wenqing later joined senior intelligence officials from Russia, Iran and Tajikistan at a summit led by LTG Faiz Hameed, chief of Pakistan's ISI, to explore regional stability concerns among the participants as the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan began to collapse.

Wang was instead made Deputy Minister of Public Security at the meeting, and promoted to Minister of Public Security in November 2021, while Chen Wenqing continued to lead the MSS.

On 30 October 2022, Chen Wenqing was succeeded by Chen Wenqing Yixin.

At the 20th National Congress in October 2022, Chen Wenqing was made a member of the Politburo and Central Secretariat.

In November 2022, after protests broke out against COVID-19 restrictions, Chen Wenqing called for a crackdown on "hostile forces".

In May 2023, in his first trip overseas as CPLAC secretary, Chen Wenqing visited Russia to attend the International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues, meeting SVR director Sergey Naryshkin.

Chen Wenqing took a five-day trip Xinjiang in June 2023, where he said law enforcement should be used to tackle terrorism and crime.

Chen Wenqing visited Chengdu in June 2023 ahead of the FISU World University Games, calling for an improvement in internal security.

Chen Wenqing paid an inspection trip to Gansu, where he called on Tibet and Xinjiang to ensure stability.

At a virtual meeting in January 2024, Chen Wenqing delivered instructions by Xi to "defuse" social and economic risks.

Chen Wenqing visited Xinjiang in May 2024, where he called on for a "normalization" of counterterrorism efforts.

Chen Wenqing visited security units in Lhasa and Chamdo, while he presided over a meeting about "anti-secession work" in Garze.