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On 11 November, Zhubai People’s Congress’s standing committee appointed Zeng Jinze (曾进泽), former Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission Chairman, as Zhuhai CCPSC member and Executive Vice Mayor. Zeng has spent his entire career prior to this latest appointment in Guangzhou. Most notably, Zeng spent six years from 2013 to 2019 in Guangzhou Nansha Economic and Technological Development Zone, working on free trade and development of the zone. Nansha currently ranks No.16 among all national economic and technological development zones.

Following the transfer of former Tianjin Vice Mayor Yao Laiying (姚来英) to Hunan in mid-October, Shenyang-Fushun New District (SFND) CCP Committee Vice Party Secretary and SFND Work Committee Chair Lian Maojun (连茂君) was transferred into Tianjin to be Yao’s replacement on 5 November. Tianjin officialdom has witnessed a series of high-profile personnel reshuffle in recent weeks, including the ouster of a retired statistics bureau head, the demotion of an incumbent finance bureau head, the outbound-transfer of a former vice mayor, and the inbound-transfer of a number of officials from Jiangsu. Lian’s appointment is just the latest.

Guangdong Vice Governor Ouyang Weimin (欧阳卫民) appointed new China Development Bank (CDB) Governor. Although now widely considered one of the “financial vice governors”, Ouyang Weimin was actually appointed to local government long before the recent cohorts of ex-bankers in a different way. Ouyang was transferred from People’s Bank of China (PBOC)’s Payment System Department Director position to Guangzhou city as vice mayor in 2011—essentially a same-level transfer, not a promotion—in an effort to help Guangzhou with its effort to become a regional financial center, elevating the city’s status as “national central city”. His role in Guangzhou gradually shifted over the years, as he was promoted into the Guangzhou CCP Standing Committee (CCPSC) overseeing the work of Guangzhou’s Zengcheng city in 2014, a job that essentially deviated him from his financial background. Ouyang was subsequently promoted to be Guangzhou Vice Party Secretary in 2016 and Guangdong Vice Governor in 2018.

On 11 October 2019, it was announced by Hunan CCP Committee that former Tianjin Vice Mayor Yao Laiying (姚来英) has been appointed Hunan CCP Standing Committee (CCPSC) member and Hunan State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) Party Secretary. Before this latest appointment, Yao was the youngest vice mayor in the northern port city. He spent his entire career until now in Tianjin, in the city’s finance system all the way up to reach the position of Tianjin Bureau of Finance Director-General in 2013. He was appointed Tianjin Vice Mayor in January 2018 during the first round of vice-provincial appointments across China right after the 19th Party Congress. Yao is the second “southward” Tianjin official in the past year. In November 2018, former Tianjin Vice Mayor Zhao Haishan (赵海山) was appointed Hubei Vice Governor.

Following former Nanjing Mayor Lan Shaomin (蓝绍敏)’s promotion to Jiangsu CCP Standing Committee (CCPSC) and appointment as Suzhou Party Secretary, the province has appointed Taizhou Party Secretary Han Liming (韩立明) as Lan’s successor in Nanjing on 8 October 2019. Han was former Changzhou Party Secretary (1984-1994) Chen Yuying (陈玉英)’s secretary in Chen’s last three years in Changzhou. Changzhou was a model for small- and median-sized cities across China back in the 1980s, for its unique, innovative path of development in light industry, electronics, chemical industry, pharmaceuticals, and construction materials. As a result, Chen Yuying became the first and only prefectural party secretary introduced into CCP Central Committee without taking any concurrent vice-provincial or provincial job. Chen was member of 13th and 14th Central Committees, which gave Han a head-start in her political career. Han became Taizhou Party Secretary in April 2018, and Taizhou is her first prefectural party secretary post. After the latest promotion to Nanjing, Han also became the second female provincial capital mayor across China—the other being incumbent Hefei Mayor Ling Yun (凌云), who was appointed in 2016. Yet, Nanjing is of vice-provincial ranking and Hefei is only of prefectural ranking—Han is therefore the only female. vice-provincial mayor in China now.

On 28 September 2019, former Everbright Bank Governor Ge Haijiao (葛海蛟) was appointed Hebei Vice Governor. Ge spent a major portion of his career in Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), and was only confirmed as Everbright Bank Governor by CBIRC in January 2019. Hebei has been lacking a vice governor since former vice governor Li Qian (李谦) was ousted in August 2019.

On 26 September 2019, former Sichuan Development Holding Company Chairman Wang Fengchao (王凤朝) was appointed Sichuan Vice Governor, filling the vacancy left by ousted former Sichuan Vice Governor Peng Yuxing (彭宇行). Sichuan’s provincial leadership has been short of one vice governor since April 2019, when former Sichuan Vice Governor Peng Yuxing was investigated by Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). Wang Fengchao spent his entire career in Sichuan, initially at Sichuan Changhong Electric Company, China’s second-largest television manufacturer. Wang was critical in making the company a leading brand of consumer electronics in China. Wang was appointed Neijiang Vice Mayor in 2005, and then transferred to become Sichuan State Asset Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) Vice Chairman in two years. He was appointed Sichuan Airlines General Manager in 2010 and then became chairman of the airline. Wang was appointed Sichuan Development Holding Company Chairman in July 2015, leading the provincial state-owned asset management company. In 2018, Sichuan Development Holding Company became Sichuan’s first SOE with over CNY one trillion total assets, under Wang’s watch. Wang has also been taking a concurrent appointment as Sichuan Financial Holding Company’s Chairman since February 2017. The company is Sichuan’s first financial holding platform. In April 2019, a Sichuan SOE reform ETF was listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange, with Sichuan Financial Holding Company taking the leading role. It is the first SOE reform ETF in Midwest China.