Beijing’s executive vice mayor, Xia Linmao, was officially placed under investigation on Oct. 22, confirming earlier unverified reports about the senior official and drawing attention to his ties to high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo member Cai Qi.
Xia, 56, served in several senior Beijing posts while Cai was the city’s top official from 2017 to 2022. U.S.-based Chinese political commentator Chen Pokong told The Epoch Times that Xia’s investigation could deal another blow to Cai, who is one of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s closest associates.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission announced that Xia was suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law,” according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. The notice did not specify the alleged misconduct.
Xia was also an alternate member of the CCP’s 20th Central Committee and a delegate to the CCP’s rubber-stamp National People’s Congress. As executive vice mayor, he oversaw day-to-day municipal government operations.
Career Tied to Cai’s Tenure in Beijing
Born in 1970, Xia spent much of his early career in Beijing’s urban planning system, serving as head of district planning offices.
During Cai’s tenure as Beijing’s CCP secretary, Xia also became a member of the municipal Party committee and secretary of its education work committee.
Xia became a deputy mayor and deputy secretary of the municipal government’s Party leadership group in 2023, according to Xinhua. In 2025, he also served as head of the Party working committee and management committee of Beijing’s subcenter, a major urban development project outside the city’s traditional core.
According to the Beijing municipal government’s published division of responsibilities, Xia oversaw development and reform, finance, emergency management, foreign affairs, and statistics, while assisting with planning and auditing.
However, Xia’s profile has been deleted from the municipal government’s website.
His investigation follows months of rumors about his political future. U.S.-based independent Chinese writer and political commentator Cai Shenkun wrote on X on Oct. 20 that, despite online speculation that Xia would be promoted to Beijing mayor, he had received insider information that the regime’s disciplinary authorities detained Xia on Oct. 19.
Cai said before the official announcement that Xia’s residence had also been searched and described the action as more serious than an earlier questioning by disciplinary authorities. These details have not been confirmed in the official announcement.
A regime insider told The Epoch Times that Xia had close ties to several people connected to the case involving Ma Xingrui, a former member of the CCP’s Politburo. The insider also alleged that Xia’s case involved Cai Erjin, Cai Qi’s son. The Epoch Times is unable to independently verify these alleged connections.
The investigation comes after another former Beijing official associated with Cai, Wei Xiaodong, chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was placed under investigation on June 6, 2026.
Political Implications Ahead of Party Meeting
Chen Pokong said Xia had played a key role during Cai’s tenure in Beijing, including in the campaign to remove people authorities labeled “low-end population” from the city. The term was used by officials to describe rural migrant workers and other lower-income residents targeted in a controversial clearance campaign.
After Cai moved to the CCP’s top leadership in 2022, Xia continued overseeing major municipal responsibilities, including the development of Beijing’s subcenter, and rose to become executive vice mayor.
Chen argued that the investigation of Xia could further weaken Cai’s position, particularly ahead of the CCP’s Fifth Plenum, a major party meeting scheduled for Oct. 26–29.
Xi recently renewed his pledge to intensify his anti-corruption campaign. Chen speculated that complaints about Cai could put the senior leader under pressure and that investigators might focus on people around him even if Cai himself were not investigated.
As of now, regime authorities have not publicly disclosed evidence linking Xia’s case to Cai or indicated whether the probe will expand to other senior officials.
Tang Bing contributed to this report.
