Xi’s security chief among cohort of rising officials at White House banquet

The White House state banquet on Thursday night saw a notable appearance by Zhou Hongxu, the official overseeing President Xi Jinping’s security. Zhou, a 55-year-old People’s Liberation Army major general, was described as both director of the Central Guard Bureau and deputy director of the Communist Party’s General Office, a powerful administrative position.

His dual role aligns with previous practices established during the tenure of prior Chinese leaders. Zhou has been accompanying Xi at major international events, including the Group of 20 summit in Bali in 2022 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco in 2023. Other prominent officials in their 50s and early 60s also attended the banquet, including Tang Fangyu, the director of the Communist Party’s Central Policy Research Office, and Lu Luhua, the top political secretary of the Chinese president’s office.

Brief written by urgent.news from Reuters Business via SCMP's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.