‘Princeling’ Ye Xuanping Passed Away: Chinese Leader Xi Loses an Important Ally

This photo taken on Nov. 2, 2012 shows the late disgraced Chinese leader Zhao Ziyang (R) talking to Ye Jianying, one of the founders of the Communist Party of China, with Hu Yaobang (back R) who also fell from power, and late patriarch Deng Xiaoping (back L), taken during the 12th party congress in 1982, on display at the press center for the upcoming Chinese Communist Party 18th Congress in Beijing. Stéphane Lagarde/AFP/Getty Images

Ye Xuanping, son of a founding Chinese Communist Party leader, died on Sept. 17 at the age of 95. The friendship between the Ye family and Chinese leader Xi’s family has spanned two generations, and the families have mutually supported each other in their political careers.

China’s princeling clan is a key component of the country’s complex power structure. A “princeling” refers to the child of a top Communist Party official. Oftentimes understanding the inter-family relationships is important for understanding China’s political affairs and power struggles.