Are They Part of China's 'Gang of Three' or Just Xi's Minions?

FILE - New members of the Politburo Standing Committee — front to back, President Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang and Li Xi — in Beijing, Oct. 23, 2022. Some observers say that Xi, Li Qiang and Cai are China's new "Gang of Three." FILE - Jiang Qing, widow of Chairman Mao Tse-tung, appears before a session of the special tribunal of the Supreme People's Court in Beijing on Dec. 5, 1980. Jiang claimed she was being scapegoated for implementing Mao's directives that resulted in the persecution of millions.

As China’s biggest political meeting of the year wrapped up Monday, analysts highlighted how power in the world’s second-largest economy continues to consolidate under leader Xi Jinping. Some were also discussing two other prominent politicians — Premier Li Qiang and Xi’s Chief of Staff, Cai Qi — and the role they play in Xi’s China.