:Wang Huning

{{family name hatnote|Wang ({{lang|zh|王}})|lang=Chinese}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Wang Huning

| native_name = {{No bold|王沪宁}}

| native_name_lang = zh-Hans-CN

| image = Wang Huning 2025 National People's Congress.jpg

| caption = Wang in 2025

| imagesize =

| order = 10th

| office = Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

| term_start = 10 March 2023

| term_end =

| 1blankname = Vice Chairpersons

| 1namedata = {{Collapsible list|title=See list|1={{plain list|

}}}}

| 2blankname = Secretary-General

| 2namedata = Wang Dongfeng

| predecessor = Wang Yang

| office3 = Director of the Central Policy Research Office

| term_start3 = October 2002

| term_end3 = October 2020

| 1blankname3 = {{nowrap|General Secretary}}

| 1namedata3 = Jiang Zemin
Hu Jintao
Xi Jinping

| deputy3 = He Yiting
Zheng Xinli

| predecessor3 = Teng Wensheng

| successor3 = Jiang Jinquan{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Other office held}}

| office4 = Director of the Office of the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission

| term_start4 = 22 January 2014

| term_end4 =

| deputy4 = Mu Hong
Pan Shengzhou
Chen Yixin

| predecessor4 = Office established

| office5 = Chairman of the Central Guidance Commission on Building Spiritual Civilization

| term_start5 = 17 November 2017

| term_end5 = October 2022

| deputy5 = Sun Chunlan
Huang Kunming

| predecessor5 = Liu Yunshan

| successor5 = Cai Qi {{Collapsed infobox section end}}

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1955|10|6|df=y}}

| birth_place = Shanghai, China

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Chinese Communist Party (1984–present)

| spouse = {{Collapsible list|title=See list|1={{plain list|

Zhou Qi
Xiao Jialing{{Cite web|url=https://faculty.fudan.edu.cn/xiaojialing/zh_CN/jsxx/436901/jsxx/jsxx.htm|title=jlxiao|access-date=31 March 2022|archive-date=24 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124012615/https://faculty.fudan.edu.cn/xiaojialing/zh_CN/jsxx/436901/jsxx/jsxx.htm|url-status=live}}

}}}}

| children = 1

| relations =

| religion =

| alma_mater = Fudan University
East China Normal University

| footnotes =

| module = {{Infobox Chinese

|child = yes

|pic = Wang Huning (Chinese characters).svg

|piccap = "Wang Huning" in Simplified (top) and Traditional (bottom) Chinese characters

|picsize = 150px

| s = 王沪宁

| t = 王滬寧

| p = Wáng Hùníng

|order = st

|mi={{IPAc-cmn|wang|2|-|h|u|4|.|n|ing|2}}

}}

Wang Huning ({{zh|s=王沪宁|p=Wáng Hùníng}}; born 6 October 1955) is a Chinese politician who is one of the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He is currently the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He has been a leading ideologist in the country since the 1980s. He has been a member of the CCP's Politburo Standing Committee, the highest decision-making within the party between convocations of the Central Committee and the National Congress, since 2017 (19th).

A former academic, Wang was a professor of international politics and dean of the law school at Fudan University. During this time, he gained attention due to his belief in "neoconservatism", which held that a strong leadership was needed for China's stability and political reforms. He became a policy author for the CCP leadership in 1995 as a director of a research team at the CCP's Central Policy Research Office (CPRO). He became the CPRO's deputy director in 1998, and became a member of the party's Central Committee and director of the office in 2002. He remained in the CPRO until 2020, the longest tenure in the office. As CPRO deputy director and later as director, he was instrumental in developing the Three Represents, a new ideological theory formulated under Jiang Zemin's leadership. He continued this work under Hu Jintao, and is believed to have had an important role in developing the theories, Scientific Outlook on Development, as well as Harmonious Society. He became a member of the CCP secretariat in 2007, a central leading organ responsible for executing and implementing policy decisions.

Wang became a member of the Politburo (18th) in 2012, and is believed to have developed close relations with CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, becoming one of his closer associates. In 2017, he was promoted to the 5th-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee and was elected to the Secretariat (19th). He has also chaired leading commissions on ideology and reforms and is believed to have been instrumental in developing key concepts under Xi, including Xi Jinping Thought, Chinese-style modernization, the Chinese Dream, and the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2022, he stopped serving in the Secretariat and became the 4th-ranking member of the PSC. He became the CPPCC chairman in March 2023, succeeding Wang Yang. He also became the deputy leader of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, an internal policy coordination organization on Taiwan policy.

Widely regarded as the "Gray Eminence" of the CCP, Wang is perceived by external observers to be the informal chief ideologue of the CCP as well as the principal architect behind the party's political ideologies since the 1990s. He has held significant positions under three paramount leaders, a rare occurrence in Chinese politics. Wang believes that a strong, centralized state is needed in China to resist foreign influence, an idea that has been influential under Xi.

Early life

Wang was born on 6 October 1955 in Nanshi, Shanghai.{{Cite web |date=31 May 2013 |title=Wang Huning – One of China's Top Future Leaders to Watch |url=http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/china/top-future-leaders/wang_huning |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531085817/http://www.brookings.edu/about/centers/china/top-future-leaders/wang_huning |archive-date=31 May 2013 |access-date=15 October 2019 |website=Brookings Institution}} He traces his heritage to Ye County, Shandong province, though he never lived in Shandong. Wang's name, "Huning ({{zh|s=沪宁|labels=no}})", literally means "the peace ({{zh|s=宁|labels=no}}) of Shanghai ({{zh|s=沪|labels=no}})", a typical name given by his Red Army parents, who fought in the Shanghai Campaign of the Chinese Civil War and remained in the city thereafter. As a military official, Wang Huning's father was implicated during the anti–Peng Dehuai campaign launched by Mao Zedong and suffered persecution during the Cultural Revolution. His mother was hospitalized several times due to illness after 1965, requiring Wang and his two older brothers to look after her. In order to prevent his three sons from dawdling amidst the Cultural Revolution, his father locked them inside their home and required them to either copy the manuscript of the Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung or read books. This experience fostered Wang's calm personality.{{cite web |author= |date=2016-06-15 |title=特稿教授王沪宁 |trans-title=Special Article: Professor Wang Huning |url=https://www.fx361.com/page/2016/0615/455427.shtml |access-date=2023-07-22 |website=Cankao Network |language=zh-hans |archive-date=21 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721223136/https://www.fx361.com/page/2016/0615/455427.shtml |url-status=live }}

During his youth, Wang went to the Shanghai Yongqiang Middle School, where he obtained books that were forbidden from his teachers. After the school opened a mechanic class, Wang participated in it as an apprentice worker. He graduated from this junior high school in 1972.{{Cite journal |last1=Patapan |first1=Haig |last2=Wang |first2=Yi |date=2 January 2018 |title=The Hidden Ruler: Wang Huning and the Making of Contemporary China |journal=Journal of Contemporary China |volume=27 |issue=109 |pages=47–60 |doi=10.1080/10670564.2017.1363018 |issn=1067-0564 |s2cid=149415653 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10072/348664}} After Nixon's visit to China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) found itself lacking diplomats familiar with foreign languages. Following an order by the CCP Central Committee, the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee established the Foreign Language Training Class in the Fudan University, the Shanghai Normal University{{NoteTag|Between 1972 and 1980, the East China Normal University was renamed as the Shanghai Normal University, and is different from the current Shanghai Normal University.}} and the Shanghai International Studies College, with each university being required to enroll 200 students in the first enrollment year of 1977. Wang was recommended to enter Shanghai Normal University May 7 Cadre School's Foreign Language Training Class to study French with 24 other classmates.{{Notetag|There are arguments on when Wang was admitted to the training class. Normally it took three years to graduate for undergraduate-level education in China during the Cultural Revolution. Official records by East China Normal University suggest that Wang entered the School in 1977, which is widely believed to be true. According to Wang himself, he remained in the countryside for four and a half years in his book Culture of Contemporary Chinese Village Family.}} The Training Class was first located in Dafeng County, Jiangsu Province, where Wang began his study in October 1972. The May 7 Cadre School later moved to Fengxian, Shanghai in April 1973.{{Cite web |author=Tang |first=Tao |date=2018-07-04 |title=华东师范大学1972-1980年更名始末 |trans-title=The whole story of the name change of East China Normal University from 1972 to 1980 |url=https://www.ecnu.edu.cn/info/1094/55825.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102201036/https://www.ecnu.edu.cn/info/1094/55825.htm |archive-date=2023-11-02 |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=East China Normal University |language=zh-hans}}

After his graduation in February 1977,{{Notetag|The training school did not offer a degree for graduates. On 13 July 1982, after countless petitions for certificates, the Shanghai Higher Education Bureau issued notice that all training school graduates who participated and passed an exam which consisted of political theory, Chinese literature and foreign languages would be granted a junior college (大专) degree.}} he became a cadre at the Shanghai Publishing Bureau. In 1978, he participated in the Graduate Entrance Examination and was admitted as a postgraduate student in the Department of International Politics of Fudan University. His mentor was Chen Qiren, who later recalled Wang was late during the interview for the entrance examination, but he gave Wang a pass due to his excellence in the primary exam.{{Cite news |last=Han |first=Xiaorong |date=13 January 2014 |title=导师:王沪宁考研复试迟到初试出众获照顾 |trans-title=Tutor: Wang Huning was late for the re-examination of the postgraduate entrance examination, but he excelled in the initial examination and was taken care of |url=http://www.hnr.cn/hnr/3g/3gnews/3gcomment/201401/t20140113_793469.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214040725/http://www.hnr.cn/hnr/3g/3gnews/3gcomment/201401/t20140113_793469.html |archive-date=14 December 2022 |access-date=8 December 2023 |work=Oriental Morning Post |language=zh}} Wang's Master dissertation was "From Bodin to Maritain: A review on the development of the Western sovereignty theory".{{Cite news |last=Yi |first=Wang |date=7 November 2017 |title=观点：王沪宁是"强人政治的解药" |trans-title=Opinion: Wang Huning is the “antidote to strongman politics” |url=https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-41855751 |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=BBC News |language=zh}} The thesis was highly approved by the defense committee, which called it "a preliminary attempt by the Chinese academic circles to systematically study bourgeois sovereignty theory". He received a Master of Laws degree{{Notetag|In the Chinese academic system, law is a much broader sector includes law (legal studies), political science, international relations and Marxist theory.}} in 1981 and stayed in Fudan as an instructor at the Political Science Teaching and Research Department. During this time, he established a close relationship with department director Wang Bangzuo.{{Cite news |last=Xia |first=Ming |date=2 November 2017 |title=夏明：我和王滬寧的十年交往 |trans-title=Xia Ming: My ten-year relationship with Wang Huning |url=https://theinitium.com/article/20171102-opinion-xiaming-wanghuning |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107112054/https://theinitium.com/article/20171102-opinion-xiaming-wanghuning/ |archive-date=7 November 2017 |access-date=8 December 2023 |work=Initium Media}} They were usually referred to as "the two Wang" by their counterparts.{{Cite news |date=25 August 2017 |title=有此一说："一国两制"首创于王沪宁的内部文稿（高新） |trans-title=There is a saying: "One country, two systems" was first created in Wang Huning's internal manuscript |url=https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-08252017130421.html |access-date=7 March 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107212448/https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-08252017130421.html |url-status=live }} According to Radio Free Asia, the theoretical framework for the one country, two systems principle for Hong Kong was first developed by Wang Huning and Wang Bangzuo in an unpublished article in the early 1980s.{{Cite news |last=Gao |first=Xin |date=25 August 2017 |title=有此一说："一国两制"首创于王沪宁的内部文稿 |trans-title=There is a saying that "One Country, Two Systems" was first coined in Wang Huning's internal document |url=https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-08252017130421.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107212448/https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-08252017130421.html |archive-date=7 November 2023 |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=Radio Free Asia |language=zh}}

Academic career

In April 1984, Wang joined the Party. In 1985 at age 29, without first needing to serve as lecturer, Wang was promoted to associate professor in international politics, making him China's youngest associate professor at the time. This made him a national figure in China. Young people wrote to him for guidance and asked him to help compile bibliographies, while his superiors often asked him to give reports and talk about his experiences. Regarding his fame Wang told an interview in 1986: "What I want most now is a peaceful and quiet environment, otherwise I will be very depressed. I have to prepare to teach new courses, I am writing two monographs, and I have my own plans. All of these take time." As a teacher, Wang continuously introduced new courses, usually teaching two or three courses per semester, and sometimes teaching four courses at the same time.{{Cite news |date=20 February 2013 |title="红墙智囊"王沪宁 |trans-title="Red Wall Think Tank" Wang Huning |url=http://news.takungpao.com/mainland/focus/2013-02/1448392.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311234744/http://news.takungpao.com/mainland/focus/2013-02/1448392.html |archive-date=11 March 2023 |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=Ta Kung Pao}}

During this time he published widely in academic journals, newspapers and magazines, which were read by the intellectual elite. By the end of 1985, Wang had published nearly 80 articles and compiled 700,000 words of materials. He also translated Robert Dahl's Modern Political Analysis.{{Cite web |date=9 August 2017 |title=王沪宁：离三任总书记最近的人 |trans-title=Wang Huning: The person closest to the three general secretaries |url=http://chinalaw124.com/a/gongyixinwen/20170809/21991.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107213026/http://chinalaw124.com/a/gongyixinwen/20170809/21991.html |archive-date=7 November 2023 |access-date=26 February 2025 |website=Chinalaw124.com}} He was also selected as a special policy researcher by Organization Department of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, which controls staffing positions within the Municipal Committee, and was the main contributor to the book Introduction to Political Science, a key social sciences project during the sixth five-year plan.{{Cite web |date=15 June 2016 |title=教授王沪宁 |trans-title=Professor Wang Huning |url=https://www.fx361.com/page/2016/0615/455427.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721223136/https://www.fx361.com/page/2016/0615/455427.shtml |archive-date=21 July 2023 |access-date=28 September 2024 |website=fx361.com}}

In May 1987, he published the book Comparative Political Analysis, in which he proposed the concept "historical-social-cultural analytical framework". In 1988, Wang was a visiting scholar in the United States for six months, spending the first three months at the University of Iowa, three weeks at the University of California, Berkeley, and visiting many other universities. During his time in the United States, Wang visited over 30 cities and close to 20 universities,{{Cite web |last=Xiao |first=Hong |date=1 July 2014 |title=王沪宁：从学者走入决策层 |script-title= |trans-title=Wang Huning: From Scholar to the Decision-Making Level |url=https://www.zz-news.com/com/jinqiu/news/itemid-1122243.html |access-date=30 December 2021 |website=Golden Autumn Magazine (金秋杂志) |archive-date=25 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025090515/https://www.zz-news.com/com/jinqiu/news/itemid-1122243.html |url-status=live }} and later wrote about his experiences in his book America Against America. After returning to China, Wang served as director of Fudan University's Department of International Politics from 1989 to 1994, and as dean of the law school in 1994–95.

Wang has been a well-known scholar in academic circles since the 1980s. He wrote columns and essays for literary magazines such as Dushu and World Economic Herald as well as numerous party-sanctioned publications including Wenhui Bao, Jiefang Daily and Guangming Daily. He was featured on the cover of current affairs magazines such as Banyuetan ({{zh|s=半月谈|labels=no}}), attracting the attention of Shanghai's top political leaders, and he was known by Jiang Zemin, then Party secretary of Shanghai. His achievements led to him being selected to participate in the drafting of theoretical documents for the CCP beginning from the 13th CCP National Congress in 1987. In 1993, Wang led the Fudan student debate team to participate in a Chinese-language international college debate competition in Singapore. The team won the championship between 1988 and 1993, greatly enhancing Wang's reputation.

On 12 February 1993, Wang established the Fudan University Development Research Institute. During this time, Wang participated in bimonthly seminars organized first by Shanghai mayor Jiang Zemin. The Development Research Institute submitted various reports, including on the 1989 revolutions in the Eastern Bloc and the political status of Taiwan. Wang was one of the two chief planners, of the China Development Report published by the Development Research Institute at the end of 1993; he was also the chief writer of its political section. Wang's work in the 1990s expressed the position that China should reclaim a sense of Chinese cultural and intellectual autonomy.{{Sfn|Brown|2023|p=125}} This drew increased attention from high-standing state-party political leaders.{{Sfn|Brown|2023|p=125-126}} In 1994, he wrote a diary titled Political Life, in which he talked about his daily life and thoughts on political and non-political issues.

Political career

In the summer of 1994, he participated in the drafting of the documents for the 4th plenary session of the 14th Central Committee.{{Cite news |date=28 September 2020 |title=话中南海：王沪宁二十五年前选择"下海"是因为"政治常有而政治学不常有"？ |trans-title=Zhongnanhai Night Talk: Wang Huning chose to “go into business” 25 years ago because “politics is common but political science is not”? |url=https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-09282020142040.html |access-date=28 September 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia |archive-date=9 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909062518/https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-09282020142040.html |url-status=live }} During his academic career, Wang was noticed by top Shanghai politicians Zeng Qinghong, the director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee, and Wu Bangguo, the Party Secretary of Shanghai, both of whom were politically close with General Secretary Jiang Zemin. While in Shanghai, Wu considered asking Wang to be a political researcher, an idea he mentioned to Jiang several times after starting to work in Beijing as a Vice Premier.{{Cite web |last=Xiao |first=Hong |date=1 July 2014 |title=王沪宁：从学者走入决策层 |trans-title=Wang Huning: From scholar to decision-maker |url=https://www.zz-news.com/com/jinqiu/news/itemid-1122243.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221025090515/https://www.zz-news.com/com/jinqiu/news/itemid-1122243.html |archive-date=25 October 2022 |access-date=30 December 2021 |website="Golden Autumn" Magazine}} When Jiang and Wang first met, Jiang joked "If you don’t come to Beijing again, these people will fall out with me", referring to Zeng and Wu. Jiang, who had heard a lot about Wang and read his works, quoted arguments from Wang's works, pleasantly surprising Wang.

In 1995, Wang was appointed by Jiang to become the head the political research team at the Central Policy Research Office (CPRO) in Beijing. After being appointed, Wang's first task was drafting the documents for the 5th plenary session for the 15th Central Committee. For the report, Wang wrote about the Twelve Major Relationships, which elaborated on how the CCP will handle the relationship between reform, development, stability and so on. He was often considered to be a key political theorist serving in the Jiang Zemin administration, together with CPRO director Teng Wensheng and Liu Ji.{{Cite news |date=2 November 2017 |title=The meaning of the man behind China's ideology |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2017/11/02/the-meaning-of-the-man-behind-chinas-ideology |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220094102/https://www.economist.com/china/2017/11/02/the-meaning-of-the-man-behind-chinas-ideology |archive-date=20 February 2021 |access-date=15 October 2019 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}{{Cite news |last=Huang |first=Yuanxi |date=11 October 2012 |title=Wang Huning, often seen at the side of two presidents |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1058180/wang-huning-often-seen-side-two-presidents |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015174600/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1058180/wang-huning-often-seen-side-two-presidents |archive-date=15 October 2019 |access-date=15 October 2019 |newspaper=South China Morning Post |language=en}} He was promoted in April 1998 to be the deputy director of the CPRO,{{Cite news |last=Page |first=Jeremy |date=5 June 2013 |title=The Wonk With the Ear of Chinese President Xi Jinping |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323728204578513422637924256 |access-date=15 October 2019 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=21 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221005604/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323728204578513422637924256 |url-status=live }} and accompanied Jiang on foreign visits since 1998 as a special assistant to the president.{{Cite news |last=Fan |first=Xiaozhou |date=2014 |title=习总书记的用人观 |trans-title=General Secretary Xi's Views on Employment |url=http://paper.people.com.cn/hqrw/html/2014-09/16/content_1498095.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114040450/http://paper.people.com.cn/hqrw/html/2014-09/16/content_1498095.htm |archive-date=14 November 2017 |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=People's Daily}} He was also part of a team that formulated "Three Represents" that allowed entrepreneurs to join the CCP and which was written into the CCP constitution in 2002.

In 2002, he was elected by the 16th Party National Congress as a member of the 16th CCP Central Committee, becoming a political functionary. He also succeeded Teng to be the director of the CPRO. In November 2007, Wang was elected to the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party (17th). He began accompanying General Secretary Hu Jintao on foreign trips and was considered one of Hu's three most influential secretaries, along with Ling Jihua and Chen Shiju. Wang is considered to be influential in the development of Scientific Outlook on Development and Harmonious Society, two concepts that originated under Hu's leadership. During this time, he also started working together with Xi Jinping; Wang was a member of the Central Leading Group for Party Building, which Xi started chairing in 2007.{{Sfn|Wong|2023|p=90}} Wang led the team that wrote Hu's final report at the 18th CCP National Congress. According to Radio Free Asia, Wang proposed twice to the Central Committee about stepping down as the CPRO Director after becoming a member of the Secretariat, but continued serving in the role after the CCP Organization Department could not find anyone to succeed him.{{Cite news |date=6 November 2020 |title=夜话中南海：中共理论幕僚最高官至正部长级王沪宁是唯一例外 |trans-title=Zhongnanhai Night Talk: Wang Huning, the highest-ranking official of the CCP’s theoretical staff and a ministerial level official, is the sole exception |url=https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-11062020143019.html |access-date=26 September 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia |archive-date=9 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230909062519/https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/yehuazhongnanhai/gx-11062020143019.html |url-status=live }}

File:With President of China Xi Jinping at the Belt and Road international forum.jpg attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Behind them were Wang, Li Zhanshu and He Lifeng.]]

He was elected to the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2012 by the 18th Central Committee, becoming the first director of the CPRO to hold a seat on the Politburo. He also stopped serving in the CCP Secretariat. Wang worked closely with Xi Jinping after he was elected as the general secretary in November 2012, emerging as one of the central members of Xi's delegation on international trips.{{Cite news |last=Lim |first=Yan Liang |date=26 October 2017 |title=Brains behind the 'China Dream' |work=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/brains-behind-the-china-dream |access-date=15 October 2019 |archive-date=15 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015175630/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/brains-behind-the-china-dream |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=21 October 2017 |title=A 'dream come true' for communist ideologist behind three Chinese presidents |work=South China Morning Post |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2116222/dream-come-true-communist-ideologist-behind-three |access-date=15 October 2019 |archive-date=17 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217052059/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2116222/dream-come-true-communist-ideologist-behind-three |url-status=live }} On 22 January 2014, Wang was appointed as the director of the Office of the Central Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Commission (CCDR), a new CCP body responsible for implementing domestic economic, political, cultural and social reforms.{{Cite journal |last=Sasaki |first=Norihiko |date=2022-07-03 |title=Functions and significance of the central leading group for comprehensively deepening reforms and the central comprehensively deepening reforms commission |journal=Journal of Contemporary East Asia Studies |language=en |publisher=Waseda University |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=229–243 |doi=10.1080/24761028.2023.2185394 |issn=2476-1028|doi-access=free }} In April 2015, he became the deputy head of the newly-created Belt and Road Construction Leadership Group, a coordination group to oversee the Belt and Road Initiative.{{Cite news |date=17 April 2015 |title=China sets up coordinating group for modern Silk Road |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/china-sets-up-coordinating-group-for-modern-silk-road-idUSKBN0N80WV/ |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=Reuters}}

= 19th Secretariat (2017–2022) =

Wang was elected by the 1st plenary session of the 19th Central Committee to be the 5th-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee on 25 October 2017, becoming one of the few members of the body without prior ministerial or provincial experience.{{Cite news |url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-congress/china-unveils-new-leadership-line-up-with-no-clear-successor-to-xi-idUKKBN1CT34E |title=China unveils new leadership line-up with no clear successor to Xi |last1=Wen |first1=Philip |date=24 October 2017 |access-date=26 October 2017 |last2=Blanchard |first2=Ben |work=Reuters |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801151700/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-congress/china-unveils-new-leadership-line-up-with-no-clear-successor-to-xi-idUKKBN1CT34E |url-status=dead }} He became a member of the 19th Secretariat. He was also appointed as a deputy leader of the CCDR. Wang has frequently accompanied Xi in his trips, suggesting involvement in China's diplomacy.{{Cite news |last=Page |first=Jeremy |date=23 December 2020 |title=How the U.S. Misread China's Xi: Hoping for a Globalist, It Got an Autocrat |language=en-US |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/xi-jinping-globalist-autocrat-misread-11608735769 |access-date=21 August 2022 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224233237/https://www.wsj.com/articles/xi-jinping-globalist-autocrat-misread-11608735769 |url-status=live }} In August 2018, Wang chaired the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideological Work, where Xi delivered a keynote speech.{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2018-08-23 |title=Signals From Xi's Speech on Ideology |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2018/08/23/signals-from-xis-speech-on-ideology/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US}} Along with other leading cadre, Wang presided over the development of Xuexi Qiangguo, an app designed to teach Xi Jinping Thought.{{Cite book |last1=Tsang |first1=Steve |author-link=Steve Chang |title=The Political Thought of Xi Jinping |last2=Cheung |first2=Olivia |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2024 |isbn=9780197689363}}{{Rp|page=29}} After the CCP launched the "remain true to our original aspiration and keep our mission firmly in mind" educational campaign in May 2019, Wang was appointed as the head of the Central Leading Group.{{Cite news |date=31 May 2024 |title=习近平：守初心担使命找差距抓落实确保主题教育取得扎扎实实的成效 |trans-title=Xi Jinping: Keep the original aspiration, shoulder the mission, find the gaps and implement them to ensure that the theme education achieves solid results |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2019-05/31/c_1124569696.htm |access-date=28 September 2024 |work=Xinhua News Agency |archive-date=4 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404173333/http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2019-05/31/c_1124569696.htm |url-status=live }}

In January 2020, Wang became the deputy leader of the Central Leading Group for Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic, with premier Li Keqiang as the leader.{{Cite news |date=26 January 2020 |title=李克强主持召开中央应对新型冠状病毒感染肺炎疫情工作领导小组会议 |trans-title=Li Keqiang presides over the meeting of the Central Leading Group for Responding to the Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia Epidemic |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2020-01/26/c_1125504004.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126181054/http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2020-01/26/c_1125504004.htm |archive-date=26 January 2020 |access-date=21 October 2022 |work=Xinhua News Agency |language=Chinese}}{{cite journal |last1=Dotson |first1=John |date=5 February 2020 |title=The CCP’s New Leading Small Group for Countering the Coronavirus Epidemic—and the Mysterious Absence of Xi Jinping |url=https://jamestown.org/program/the-ccps-new-leading-small-group-for-countering-the-coronavirus-epidemic-and-the-mysterious-absence-of-xi-jinping/ |url-status=live |journal=China Brief |volume=3 |issue=3 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=21 March 2025}} He also accompanied Xi to visiting Wuhan in March.{{Cite news |date=10 March 2020 |title=习近平在湖北省考察新冠肺炎疫情防控工作 |language=Chinese |trans-title=Xi Jinping inspects the prevention and control work of the new crown pneumonia epidemic in Hubei Province |work=Xinhua News Agency |url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2020-03/10/c_1125692140.htm |access-date=21 October 2022 |archive-date=17 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217232811/http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/leaders/2020-03/10/c_1125692140.htm |url-status=live }} He was succeeded by Jiang Jinquan as the director of CPRO in 2020.{{Cite news |date=12 February 2022 |title=Wang Huning's career reveals much about political change in China |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2022/02/12/wang-hunings-career-reveals-much-about-political-change-in-china |access-date=21 August 2022 |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=28 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928160814/https://www.economist.com/china/2022/02/12/wang-hunings-career-reveals-much-about-political-change-in-china |url-status=live }} In 2020, he was one of the drafters of the outline of the fourteenth five-year plan.{{Cite news |last1=Yuanyue |first1=Dang |last2=Zheng |first2=William |date=10 August 2024 |title=China's third plenum highlights the quiet rise of political theorist Wang Huning |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3273809/chinas-third-plenum-highlights-quiet-rise-political-theorist-wang-huning |access-date=24 August 2024 |work=South China Morning Post |archive-date=28 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928160813/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3273809/chinas-third-plenum-highlights-quiet-rise-political-theorist-wang-huning |url-status=live }} He played a key role in drafting the "third historical resolution" in November 2021, which further consolidated Xi's power.{{Cite web |date=9 December 2021 |title=China in 2022 – a look ahead |url=https://merics.org/en/merics-briefs/china-2022-look-ahead |access-date=14 August 2022 |website=Mercator Institute for China Studies |language=en |archive-date=28 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928160815/https://merics.org/en/merics-briefs/china-2022-look-ahead |url-status=live }} In January 2022, Wang chaired the National Propaganda Ministers Work Conference, where he emphasized the importance of Xi Jinping Thought and called on officials to follow the "442 formula", meaning the Four Consciousnesses, the Four Confidences and the Two Upholds.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2022-01-06 |title=A Long Road to the CCP Congress |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2022/01/06/paving-the-way-for-the-20th-ccp-congress/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US}} Reuters reported on 3 March 2023, citing sources, that Wang held a meeting in late October with top medical experts, senior officials and people from the propaganda apparatus, asking them how many deaths an abandonment of zero-COVID controls would cause in a worst-case scenario and requesting them to devise roadmaps on reopening policies in different paces.{{Cite news |last1=Zhu |first1=Julie |last2=Yew |first2=Lun Tian |last3=Tham |first3=Engen |date=3 March 2023 |title=How China's new No.2 hastened the end of Xi's zero-COVID policy |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/how-chinas-new-no2-hastened-end-xis-zero-covid-policy-2023-03-03/ |access-date=3 March 2023 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416192211/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/how-chinas-new-no2-hastened-end-xis-zero-covid-policy-2023-03-03/ |url-status=live }}

= Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (2023–) =

File:Puan Maharani Wang Huning.jpg Puan Maharani on 28 May 2024]]

In a preparatory meeting, Wang was elected as the secretary-general of the 20th CCP National Congress, which was held in October 2022.{{Cite news |title=Xi presides over preparatory meeting for 20th CPC National Congress |url=https://english.news.cn/20221015/9b144d5bcacc4df5bb17f4556b4f0521/c.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015113832/https://english.news.cn/20221015/9b144d5bcacc4df5bb17f4556b4f0521/c.html |archive-date=15 October 2022 |access-date=15 October 2022 |website=Xinhua News Agency}} He was also one of the deputy directors of the drafting team helping draft Xi's speech for the National Congress. Following the 1st plenary session of the 20th CCP Central Committee, Wang was elected to the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party as its 4th ranking member, and was stopped serving in the secretariat.{{Cite news |last1=Jun |first1=Mai |last2=Zhuang |first2=Pinghui |last3=Guo |first3=Rui |date=2022-10-23 |title=Xi chooses fresh faces to confront new term of 'unparalleled complexity' |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3196967/chinese-president-xi-jinping-looks-fresh-faces-confront-new-term-unparalleled-complexity |access-date=2022-10-29 |newspaper=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=29 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221029203412/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3196967/chinese-president-xi-jinping-looks-fresh-faces-confront-new-term-unparalleled-complexity |url-status=live }}

On 17 January 2023, he was elected as a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's national specialist consultative organ.{{Cite news |date=17 January 2023 |title=中国人民政治协商会议第十四届全国委员会委员名单 |trans-title=List of Members of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference |work=Xinhua News Agency |url=http://www.news.cn/2023-01/18/c_1129294900.htm |access-date=19 January 2023 |archive-date=2 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202122512/http://www.news.cn/2023-01/18/c_1129294900.htm |url-status=live }} Though initial reporting before the CCP Congress by the South China Morning Post suggested that he was going to become the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, he instead became the chairman of the CPPCC National Committee in March 2023 at the 1st Session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee.{{Cite news |date=10 March 2023 |title=Wang Huning elected chairman of China's top political advisory body |work=Xinhua News Agency |url=https://english.news.cn/20230310/9e6225b04bf847a2a33df1b36dbdd8d0/c.html |access-date=10 March 2023 |archive-date=11 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311113114/https://english.news.cn/20230310/9e6225b04bf847a2a33df1b36dbdd8d0/c.html |url-status=live }} He also kept his position as the deputy leader of the CCDR.{{Cite news |date=20 July 2023 |title=王沪宁地位角色愈趋重要 |trans-title=Wang Huning's status and role are becoming increasingly important |url=https://www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20230720-%E7%8E%8B%E6%B2%AA%E5%AE%81%E5%9C%B0%E4%BD%8D%E8%A7%92%E8%89%B2%E8%B6%8A%E8%B6%8B%E9%87%8D%E8%A6%81 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721055401/https://www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20230720-%E7%8E%8B%E6%B2%AA%E5%AE%81%E5%9C%B0%E4%BD%8D%E8%A7%92%E8%89%B2%E8%B6%8A%E8%B6%8B%E9%87%8D%E8%A6%81 |archive-date=21 July 2023 |access-date=15 January 2024 |work=Radio France Internationale}} According to a Foreign Affairs article by Odd Arne Westad in 2023, Wang is also a member of the CCP National Security Commission and "is perhaps the most influential presence after Xi himself."{{Cite news |last=Westad |first=Odd Arne |author-link=Odd Arne Westad |date=2023-06-13 |title=What Does the West Really Know About Xi's China? |language=en-US |work=Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/what-does-west-really-know-about-xis-china |access-date=2023-06-13 |issn=0015-7120 |archive-date=13 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230613093057/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/china/what-does-west-really-know-about-xis-china |url-status=live }}

In May 2023, Wang visited Xinjiang, including major cities such as Ürümqi and Kashgar as well as rural communities, schools, mosques and businesses. In Ürümqi, he visited the a museum, the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, the Xinjiang University and some companies, while in Kashgar, he visited the Id Kah Mosque and the Mangan village. During the visit, he called for unity among ethnic groups and called on to "plant the seeds of patriotism into everyone, especially the teenagers".{{Cite news |last=Liang |first=Xinlu |date=25 May 2023 |title=In Xinjiang, China's top political adviser Wang Huning calls for 'correct historical view' of Chinese nation |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3221792/xinjiang-chinas-top-political-adviser-wang-huning-calls-correct-historical-view-chinese-nation |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}} During a work conference on Xinjiang in September 2023, Wang called for efforts to develop industrial, education and cultural sectors of Xinjiang, and also stressed the importance of "pairing assistance" programs. He also called for "fostering a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation".{{Cite news |last=Zhang |first=Phoebe |date=22 September 2023 |title=China's top political adviser Wang Huning urges support for Xinjiang in education, culture and industry |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3235480/chinas-top-political-adviser-wang-huning-urges-support-xinjiang-education-culture-and-industry |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}}

In December 2023, Wang spoke at the 11th National Chinese Christian Congress, where he called on the Three-Self Patriotic Movement and the China Christian Council to "adhere to the direction of Sinicization of Christianity" and "interpret the doctrines that conform to the development and progress requirements of contemporary China, the core values of socialism and the excellent traditional Chinese culture".{{Cite news |last=Wang |first=Amber |date=24 December 2023 |title=China's Christian groups told to ensure 'strict' oversight of religion as Communist Party controls tighten |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3246162/chinas-christian-groups-told-ensure-strict-oversight-religion-communist-party-controls-tighten |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}} In 2024, he was a deputy head to the Xi-led drafting committee that wrote the resolutions of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee in July 2024. At a plenary meeting of the CPPCC in July 2024, Wang called for boosting the dual circulation strategy.{{Cite news |last=Zuo |first=Mandy |date=9 July 2024 |title=China must unblock internal circulation, No 4 official says in warning of weak domestic demand |url=https://www.scmp.com/economy/economic-indicators/article/3269786/china-must-unblock-internal-circulation-no-4-official-says-warning-weak-domestic-demand |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}} In December 2024, he visited the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing.{{Cite news |last=Liang |first=Xinlu |date=25 December 2024 |title=China's ideology tsar views Buddhism reincarnation exhibition in signal to Dalai Lama |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3292260/chinas-ideology-tsar-views-buddhism-reincarnation-exhibition-signal-dalai-lama |access-date=25 December 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}}

In January 2025, Wang held a meeting of the CPPCC, where he pledged to support the development of the private sector, saying China "must support the healthy development of the non-public sector and entrepreneurs, and also guide private enterprises and entrepreneurs to strengthen confidence, surmount challenges, and propel growth".{{Cite news |last=Yang |first=Carol |date=16 January 2025 |title=China's top political adviser, Wang Huning, reaffirms support for private economy |url=https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3295065/chinas-top-political-adviser-wang-huning-reaffirms-support-private-economy |access-date=17 January 2025 |work=South China Morning Post}} In February 2025, he presided over a symposium attended by Xi and private sector leaders including Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing, Will Semiconductor leader Yu Renrong, CATL leader Robin Zeng, Meituan leader Wang Xing, BYD Company leader Wang Chuanfu, Tencent CEO Ma Huateng and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng.{{Cite news |last1=McMorrow |first1=Ryan |last2=Olcott |first2=Eleanor |last3=Alim |first3=Arjun Neil |date=2025-02-17 |title=Xi Jinping meets China's business titans including Alibaba's Jack Ma |url=https://www.ft.com/content/ac8da614-6bd4-4328-a522-a1712986d73f |access-date=2025-02-26 |work=Financial Times}} In March 2025, Wang held discussions with religious leaders in the CPPCC, where he called on religious activities to be "legal, safe, and orderly."{{Cite news |last=Zheng |first=William |date=7 March 2025 |title=CPPCC chief Wang Huning calls for 'safe and orderly' religious activities: report |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3301452/cppcc-chief-wang-huning-calls-safe-and-orderly-religious-activities-report |access-date=7 March 2025 |work=South China Morning Post}}

== Taiwan ==

In January 2023, Wang became the deputy leader of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, placing him in charge of political relations with Taiwan.{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Chris |date=26 October 2024 |title=The Man Who Shaped China's Strongman Rule Has a New Job: Winning Taiwan |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/26/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-adviser-taiwan.html |access-date=26 October 2024 |work=The New York Times}} He is tasked with laying the groundwork for unification with Taiwan, coming up with a theory that replaces "one country, two systems" to serve as a metric to measure progress toward China's unification goals.{{Cite news |last=Nakazawa |first=Katsuji |date=January 26, 2023 |title=Xi puts top brain in charge of Taiwan unification strategy |url=https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Analysis-Xi-puts-top-brain-in-charge-of-Taiwan-unification-strategy |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-01-26 |newspaper=Nikkei Asia |language=en-GB |archive-date=26 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230126175924/https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Analysis-Xi-puts-top-brain-in-charge-of-Taiwan-unification-strategy |url-status=live }} On 10 February, he met with Andrew Hsia, vice chairman of the Kuomintang, Taiwan's main opposition party.{{Cite news |date=10 February 2023 |title=China Says It's Ready to Enhance Ties With Taiwan Opposition |work=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-10/china-says-it-s-ready-to-enhance-ties-with-taiwan-opposition |access-date=11 February 2023 }} During the visit, Wang said that "Taiwan independence is incompatible with peace and runs counter to the well-being of Taiwan compatriots". Wang also met with Liu Chao-shiuan, president of the Council of the Summit for Entrepreneurs Across the Taiwan Strait, in April, and Wu Cherng-dean, chairman of the New Party, in June.{{Cite news |last=Wang |first=Amber |date=6 June 2023 |title=Beijing voices support for Taiwan's pro-unification forces in latest exchange |work=South China Morning Post |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3223137/beijing-voices-support-taiwans-pro-unification-forces-latest-exchange |access-date=7 June 2023 |archive-date=6 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230606215305/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3223137/beijing-voices-support-taiwans-pro-unification-forces-latest-exchange |url-status=live }} In the same month, at the Straits Forum Wang unveiled a plan to transform Fujian province into a demonstration zone for "Taiwan’s economic integration into China".{{Cite news |last1=Chung |first1=Li-hua |last2=Chin |first2=Jonathan |last3=Chung |first3=Jake |date=18 June 2023 |title=MAC rejects Fujian plan |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2023/06/18/2003801721 |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=Taipei Times}} On 11 September, he was chosen as the president of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, a body designed to advance unification with Taiwan; the CPPCC chairman also generally serves as the president of the council.{{Cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3234299/beijings-top-political-adviser-picked-lead-taiwan-reunification-group-stresses-fight-against|title=Beijing's top political adviser picked to lead Taiwan reunification group, stresses fight against 'separatist forces'|last=Cai|first=Vanessa|date=2023-09-12|website=South China Morning Post|access-date=13 September 2023|archive-date=12 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230912193621/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3234299/beijings-top-political-adviser-picked-lead-taiwan-reunification-group-stresses-fight-against|url-status=live}}

In December 2023, Taiwanese officials told reporters convened a meeting to coordinate efforts across various departments to influence the 2024 Taiwanese presidential election.{{Cite news |last=Cheung |first=Eric |date=8 December 2023 |title=Taiwan official: Chinese leaders met to hash out interference plans targeting island's presidential election |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/08/asia/taiwan-intelligence-china-leaders-meeting-election-interference-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=CNN}} In February 2024, Wang spoke at the Taiwan Work Conference, where he said China "must resolutely fight ‘Taiwan independence’ separatism" and "further grasp the strategic initiative to achieve the complete unification of the motherland".{{Cite news |last=Hille |first=Kathrin |date=2024-02-23 |title=China's Communist party toughens Taiwan rhetoric with call to 'fight' independence |url=https://www.ft.com/content/28172cc1-b3b7-4a72-88b0-5a963d0ce823 |access-date=2024-12-18 |work=Financial Times}} On 10 April, he was one of the officials that met former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou during his meeting with Xi. On 27 April, he met with a Kuomintang delegation led by Fu Kun-chi, the Majority Leader in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's legislature, in Beijing.{{Cite news |date=27 April 2024 |title=China's No. 4 leader meets Taiwan lawmakers, opposes independence |url=https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/04/e544677fab40-chinas-no-4-leader-meets-taiwan-lawmakers-opposes-independence.html |access-date=16 October 2024 |work=Kyodo News}} He attended the Straits Forum in June 2024, where he said the "historic trend of China’s renaissance and reunification is unstoppable".{{Cite news |last1=Dang |first1=Yuanyue |last2=Wong |first2=Hayley |date=15 June 2024 |title=China's reunification is 'unstoppable', says Beijing's top man on Taiwan affairs |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3266741/chinas-reunification-unstoppable-says-beijings-top-man-taiwan-affairs |access-date=15 June 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}} In August, he sent a congratulatory to the Overseas Chinese World Conference for Promoting Peaceful Reunification of China held in Hong Kong, praising the efforts of Chinese in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas in advocating against Taiwanese independence.{{Cite news |last1=Chan |first1=Kahon |last2=Wu |first2=Willa |date=20 August 2024 |title=Hong Kong plays key role in promoting Taiwan's reunification, top Beijing official says |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3275221/hong-kong-has-key-role-play-promoting-taiwans-reunification-top-beijing-official-says |access-date=18 December 2024 |work=South China Morning Post}} In February 2025, he attended a work conference on Taiwan affairs, where he called on China to "shape the inevitable reunification of the motherland".{{Cite news |date=26 February 2025 |title=China Takes Tougher Tone on Taiwan, Announces Military Drills |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-26/china-takes-tougher-tone-on-taiwan-announces-military-drills |access-date=26 February 2025 |work=Bloomberg News}}

Political positions

{{Main articles|Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party|Conservatism in China}}

Wang has been called China's "chief ideologue" by external observers{{Cite news |title=The flaws that China’s chief ideologue found in America |url=https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/02/22/the-flaws-that-chinas-chief-ideologue-found-in-america |access-date=2025-03-23 |work=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}} and is thought to be influential in the development of the political ideas published under the names of three CCP leaders: Three Represents of Jiang Zemin, the Scientific Outlook on Development of Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping Thought.{{Cite news |last=Perlez |first=Jane |date=13 November 2017 |title=Behind the Scenes, Communist Strategist Presses China's Rise |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-wang-huning.html |access-date=9 January 2020 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=21 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221005604/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/13/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-wang-huning.html |url-status=live }} He is also believed to play a key role in drafting concepts including the Harmonious Society, Chinese Dream, Chinese-style modernization,{{Cite news |last1=Baptista |first1=Eduardo |last2=Martina |first2=Michael |date=2022-12-11 |title=Newsmaker: China's Wang Huning, a backstage ideologue and political survivor |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-wang-huning-backstage-ideologue-political-survivor-2022-12-11/ |access-date=2022-12-16 |archive-date=16 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216213253/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-wang-huning-backstage-ideologue-political-survivor-2022-12-11/ |url-status=live }} and the Belt and Road Initiative.{{cite news |date=26 April 2013 |title=Comments from Hu Shaojiang: From the Three Represents to the Chinese Dream, Wang Huning has Exhausted his Creativity |script-title=zh:胡少江评论：从三个代表到中国梦，王沪宁江郎才尽 |work=Radio Free Asia |publisher= |url=http://www.rfa.org/cantonese/commentaries/hushaojiang_com-04262013103021.html |access-date=7 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301003146/https://www.rfa.org/cantonese/commentaries/hushaojiang_com-04262013103021.html |archive-date=1 March 2016}} According to the South China Morning Post, Xi "regularly asks for Wang’s input on his major speeches and statements".

=Political system=

During his tenure as a professor in the 1980s, Wang initially gained attention for his advocacy of neoauthoritarianism, the view that a centralized government is necessary to maintain economic growth and stability, which could later slowly do political reforms from within,{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=220}} though Wang has rejected the label, saying "the Communist Party can only accept one doctrine, Marxism–Leninism".{{Cite news |last=Liu |first=Yi |date=24 October 2017 |title=谁人不识王沪宁 |trans-title=Who doesn't know Wang Huning? |url=https://www.zaobao.com.sg/special/report/politic/cnpol/story20171024-805285 |access-date=5 March 2025 |work=Lianhe Zaobao}} While in Fudan, Wang took an interest in the economic development of the Four Asian Tigers, particularly of Singapore. After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Wang, along with other academics that favored neoauthoritarianism, proposed a new set of ideas which came to be called "neoconservatism", which rejected radical reform in favor of market reforms and upholding the leadership of the CCP.{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=286}}

In his articles, Wang wrote "political systems must adapt to certain historical, social and cultural conditions" and "cannot be transplanted or forced to grow". In regard to democracy in China, he wrote "the reform of the political system cannot exceed the specific conditions of China at this stage", continuing by saying "developing democracy should be based on the development of productivity. Only in this way can the development of democracy be effective". Wang wrote that he believes there must be a unified and stable leadership to "promote democracy in the whole society through inner-party democracy". During the period of reform and opening up in the 1980s, Wang wrote that "China’s political culture is undergoing a profound transformation; the traditional, conservative, closed, concentrated, subjective, and arbitrary elements of political culture are transforming into new, open, decentralized, objective, and democratic elements".{{Sfn|Gewirtz|2022|p=197}}

In a paper titled "Reflections on the ‘Cultural Revolution’ and Political Reform" published in 1986 in the World Economic Herald, he wrote that it is "very important to comply with the constitution" lest a new Cultural Revolution happen.{{Cite news |last=Lo |first=Kinling |date=25 October 2017 |title=Wang Huning: the liberal set to be China's ideology tsar |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2116964/wang-huning-low-profile-liberal-dream-weaver-whos-about |access-date=21 August 2022 |newspaper=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=20 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420011226/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2116964/wang-huning-low-profile-liberal-dream-weaver-whos-about |url-status=live }} He also wrote "Aside from historical, social, economic and other causes, the imperfect and incomplete nature of political reforms were a cause that cannot be underestimated". He wrote the Cultural Revolution occurred because the CCP had not "formed a complete set of democratic systems" including a "system of division" between the Party and government, the National People's Congress was unable to exercise its powers, and there was no independent judicial system, a vertical decentralization in the political system, a national public servant system or a system to protect the right of citizens.{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2020-09-22 |title=Old Ideas From Xi's New Era Theorist |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2020/09/22/old-reform-ideas-to-spite-xis-new-era/ |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US}} As a solution, Wang proposes the CCP use "political projects" to create a further fusion of social and political life and to strengthen the CCP technologically.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Matthew D. |title=Wang Huning, The Culture Revolution and Reform of China's Political System |url=https://www.readingthechinadream.com/wang-huning-the-culture-revolution-and-reform-of-chinas-political-system.html |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Reading the China Dream |language=en}}

In 1986, Wang wrote an article in which he argued that central power must be concentrated in the reform process and that the government should be relied upon to advance further economic reform. The article caused a debate in the Shanghai intellectual community, which debated the role of government centralization in the process of national modernization, and was seen as the theoretical embryo of neoauthoritarianism.

His political views changed after his visit to the U.S., after which he advocated for a centralized one-party state that was culturally unified and self-confident to resist the influence of liberal ideas.{{Cite web |last=Lyons |first=N.S. |date=11 October 2021 |title=The Triumph and Terror of Wang Huning |url=https://palladiummag.com/2021/10/11/the-triumph-and-terror-of-wang-huning/ |access-date=30 December 2021 |website=Palladium |language=en-US |archive-date=28 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240928160833/https://www.palladiummag.com/2021/10/11/the-triumph-and-terror-of-wang-huning/ |url-status=live }} In a 1995 interview, he said that "[i]n a place without central authority, or a place where central authority has become weakened, the country would be mired in a state of division and chaos," and that "[a] strong central authority is the fundamental guarantee for achieving rapid and stable development at a relatively low cost during the process of modernization."{{Sfn|Wong|2023|p=90}}

=Culture=

In his 1988 essay "The Structure of China's Changing Political Culture", Wang said that the CCP must reconsider how a nation's "software", meaning culture, values, and attitudes, shaped its "hardware", meaning economics, systems, and institutions. Some sources have attributed this type of thought to be "a daring break from the materialism of Orthodox Marxism." Wang said that China was under a great transformation from a "culturally oriented political culture" which was guided by political mobilization to an "institutionally oriented political economy" led by economic mobilization, but the new model under the socialism with Chinese characteristics was leaving China with no core values, which "could serve only to dissolve societal and political cohesion". He says China passed through three stages in its development culture, traditional, modern, and Marxist-socialist, but none of led to the removal of structures preceding them, meaning China was still an "unformed state" that didn't have a "proper identity". Wang also said that the introduction of Marxism to China was not completely positive, and that while the CCP criticized China's historical values since 1949, it did not give enough regard to creating and shaping its own core values.{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Matthew D. |title=Wang Huning, "The Structure of China's Changing Political Culture" |url=https://www.readingthechinadream.com/wang-huning-ldquothe-structure-of-chinarsquos-changing-political-culturerdquo.html |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Reading the China Dream |language=en}}

In the essay, he recommends that China combine and "re-engineer" its historical and modern values (including foreign Marxist values) to create a "synchronic" culture. He implies that as the Chinese population becomes more aware of the political socialization process, it will lead to the emergence of a new value system. He says China's political development will be the "fundamental basis for the construction of democratic politics in China" and "an important condition for the socialist system to demonstrate its superiority". He says there is a necessity for "the components of the modern structure that embody the spirit of modern democracy and humanism" to "take root and grow" and says "in the specific context of China's reform and opening, China's political culture needs to add elements in the areas of participation, democracy, consultation, equality, rights, responsibility, competition, and the rule of law."

Wang has also written China's first academic paper on "soft power", and has been thought to be the driving force in China's investments in promoting its culture overseas. In 1994, in his essay titled "Cultural Expansion and Cultural Sovereignty: A Challenge to the Concept of Sovereignty", Wang argued that after the end of the Cold War, "culture conflict" surpassed political and military conflicts as the greatest threats to state sovereignty. He wrote that "hard power" conflicts have been reduced and replaced by "soft power", including one that is "counter-hegemonic", with non-Western countries against Western "cultural hegemony", as well as the rise of nationalism between or within countries. He writes "Western countries are increasingly employing their cultural strength to constrain or influence world affairs and the process of internal developments of developing countries". He writes that as a reaction, "cultural sovereignty" emerged. He says struggle over culture is a form of "political struggle", meaning it was necessary to defend China's political system. He writes that while China must protect its cultural sovereignty, he says this must not mean an adoption of "cultural isolation", which he says "inevitably becomes archaic and obsolete".{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Matthew D. |title=Wang Huning, "Cultural Expansion and Cultural Sovereignty |url=https://www.readingthechinadream.com/wang-huning-ldquocultural-expansion-and-cultural-sovereignty.html |access-date=2025-02-26 |website=Reading the China Dream |language=en}}

=United States=

File:Hu Jintao and Barack Obama, June 26 2010.jpg talked with U.S. President Barack Obama at the G20 Toronto Summit. Behind them was Wang Huning.]]In 1991, after his visit to the U.S., Wang wrote the book America Against America.{{cite news |last=Yi |first=Wang |date=6 November 2017 |title=Meet the mastermind behind Xi Jinping's power |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/theworldpost/wp/2017/11/06/wang-huning/ |url-status=dead |access-date=27 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171106220804/https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/theworldpost/wp/2017/11/06/wang-huning/ |archive-date=6 November 2017}} The book talked about the increasing challenges he saw in the U.S., such as inequality, economic conflicts, decaying of social values and commodification. He also praised the strengths of the U.S., such as its modernity and was described by The Economist as "seeing the weaknesses in America's system, but not exaggerating them". In Wang's own words:

My intention with this title is to show that America contains contradictions that cannot be dismissed with a single sentence. In the old days, people had a dogmatic view of American society as merely the “exploitation of surplus value,” a “dictatorship of the bourgeoisie,” and nothing more. Now there is another extreme, some people imagine the United States as a paradise, rich and without flaw. In fact American society doesn’t match either of these descriptions, and often finds itself in fundamental contradiction with them. There are strengths and weaknesses, and wherever strength can be found, weakness can also be found. America is a contradiction, it contains multitudes. This is what I mean by “America Against America.”{{cite web | url=https://tikhanovlibrary.substack.com/p/america-against-america | title=America Against America | date=22 September 2023 | access-date=23 October 2023 | archive-date=30 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030174233/https://tikhanovlibrary.substack.com/p/america-against-america | url-status=live }}

Personal life

Wang has been described by former colleagues as an insomniac and workaholic, introverted, discreet and "almost obsessively low-profile." After entering into politics in the 1990s, he cut off most contact with his academic colleagues. Having studied French as an undergraduate, Wang is a fluent French speaker. He is also an avid reader of Wuxia novels. In his memoir Political Life, Wang said his goal in life was to keep writing books and teaching students.{{Cite news |date=2022-10-18 |title=Exclusive: China's ideology tsar Wang Huning tipped to head National People's Congress |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3196399/chinas-ideology-tsar-wang-huning-tipped-head-national-peoples-congress |access-date=2022-10-21 |newspaper=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108130142/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3196399/chinas-ideology-tsar-wang-huning-tipped-head-national-peoples-congress |url-status=live }}

=Family=

Wang has two older brothers. Wang's first marriage, to Zhou Qi, an international relations expert at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Renmin University of China, ended in divorce after he went to Zhongnanhai in 1996. They had no children. He later married a nurse in Zhongnanhai. They have one child.{{Cite web |last=Cheng |first=Li |title=Wang Huning 王沪宁 |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/china_20171013_19thpartycongress_wang_huning.pdf |access-date=9 January 2020 |website=Brookings Institution |archive-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202134806/https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/china_20171013_19thpartycongress_wang_huning.pdf |url-status=live }}

=Public perceptions=

Having worked closely with three consecutive paramount leaders, Wang demonstrated a rare and remarkable ability to retain influence under leaders belonging to various Communist Party factions. He has been regarded as the "Gray Eminence" of the CCP.{{Cite web |last=Parello-Plesner |first=Jonas |date=28 August 2024 |title=America Against America |url=https://www.gmfus.org/news/america-against-america |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=German Marshall Fund |language=en}} Additionally, he has been described as "China's Kissinger" by The Hankyoreh,{{cite news |last=Jakhar |first=Pratik |date=8 October 2017 |title=China party congress: The rising stars of China's Communist Party |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-41322178 |access-date=7 November 2022 |archive-date=17 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217232822/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-41322178 |url-status=live }} and is called guóshī ({{Zh|c=国师}}) by Chinese netizens, a title historically given to top religious leaders in Imperial China, particularly the Yuan Dynasty.{{Cite news |last=Chang |first=Che |date=21 March 2022 |title=How a Book About America's History Foretold China's Future |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/how-a-book-about-americas-history-foretold-chinas-future |access-date=29 October 2022 |archive-date=8 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231108093238/https://www.newyorker.com/books/second-read/how-a-book-about-americas-history-foretold-chinas-future |url-status=live }}

Works

Wang's books include The Logic of Politics—The Principles of Marxist Political Science, General Introduction to New Politics, Analysis of Modern Western Politics, Analysis of Comparative Politics and Debate Contest in Lion City, all in Chinese. Others include (all in Chinese):

{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=National Sovereignty |publisher= |year=1987 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Analysis of Comparative Politics |publisher= |year=1987 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Analysis of Contemporary Western Politics |publisher= |year=1988 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Introduction to Public Administration |publisher= |year=1988 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Analysis of Administrative Ecology |publisher= |year=1989 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Collection of Wang Huning |publisher= |year=1989 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Anti-Corruption: Experiment in China |publisher= |year=1990 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Corruption and Anti-Corruption: Study of Contemporary Oversees Corruption Problem |publisher= |year=1990 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Culture of Contemporary Chinese Village Family |publisher= |year=1991 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=America Against America |publisher= |year=1991 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Debate in Lion Castle |publisher= |year=1993 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Political Logic |publisher= |year=1994 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Huning |title=Political Life |publisher= |year=1995 |isbn= |volume= |location= |author-mask=3}}

= Translations =

-- , Wang Huning, “[https://www.readingthechinadream.com/wang-huning-the-culture-revolution-and-reform-of-chinas-political-system.html Reflections on the Cultural Revolution and the Reform of China's Political System], " (Translated from 王沪宁, "'文革'反思与政治体制改革," originally published in the World Economic Herard 世界经济导报 May 8, 1986),Introduction by Matthew D. Johnson and Translation by David Ownby, Reading the China Dream

Notes

References

=Works cited=

{{cite book |last=Gewirtz |first=Julian |title=Never Turn Back: China and the Forbidden History of the 1980s |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2022 |isbn=9780674241848|doi=}}
{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Kerry |author-link=Kerry Brown (historian) |title=China Incorporated: The Politics of a World Where China is Number One |date=2023 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-350-26724-4 |location=London}}
{{cite book |last=Wong |first=Chun Han |title=Party of One: The Rise of Xi Jinping and China's Superpower Future |date=2023 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |isbn=9781982185732 }}