The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has established a new Central Leading Group for Social Governance (中共中央社会治理工作领导小组), headed by Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi, to improve cross-departmental coordination, strengthen social governance, and maintain social stability. The group is believed to have been established around the time of the Central Social Work Conference in November 2025, although its existence was publicly disclosed only later by local authorities.
The CCP established the Central Social Work Department in 2023 to oversee social work and grassroots Party-building. Since then, it has strengthened Party-building and management of the 84 million “new employment groups,” including delivery workers, couriers, and ride-hailing drivers. It has also tightened regulation of national industry associations and chambers of commerce.
Cai Qi is believed to head the Central Leading Group for Social Governance, with Li Ganjie, Li Shulei, Chen Wenqing, and Mu Hong serving as deputy heads. Local disclosures subsequently confirmed the group’s establishment. In April, authorities in Henan’s Sheqi County stated that the group’s office was located within the Central Social Work Department, while in August, officials in Zhejiang’s Chun’an County referred to directives from a meeting of the central group.
In July, the CCP Central Committee and the State Council issued guidelines on strengthening social work in the new era, calling for stronger Party influence in emerging sectors, greater Party-building efforts within internet-platform companies, and new approaches to Party-building in technology companies. The guidelines also called for improved petition and complaint-handling mechanisms and for social conflicts to be resolved at the grassroots level before they escalate.
Source: Mingpao, September 8, 2026
https://news.mingpao.com/pns/中國/article/20260908/s00013/1788800364595/中國透視-中央社會治理小組-橫空殺出-蔡奇掛帥-文-劉實