China’s No. 3 Leader Absent From Major Political Session Due to Respiratory Infection

The absence of Zhao Leji has set off discussions about power dynamics within the upper echelons of the communist regime.

Politburo Standing Committee member Cai Qi (L) and Zhao Leji (R), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's rubber-stamp legislature, read speeches during the second plenary session of the National People's Congress at Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 8, 2025. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

China’s third-highest official did not attend the closing session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) rubber-stamp legislature on Tuesday, breaking a decades-long norm that has sparked speculation about the power struggles within the regime’s top ranks.

Zhao Leji, head of the National People’s Congress (NPC), a rubber-stamp body under the Party’s control, was expected to preside over the annual meetings’ closing session on Tuesday afternoon.