20 Trillion in Black Accounts, Wen Jiabao Pressures Zeng Qinghong, Zhang Shengmin Makes Secret Troop Deployments for Beidaihe [Jiang Feng Vision 20260708 Episode 430]

This episode reveals two major internal political struggle developments within Zhongnanhai: first, the inside story of Wen Jiabao forcing Zeng Qinghong into a corner and seizing a 20 trillion US dollar slush fund from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including dispatching Li Qian, who comes from a state security (MSS) background, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the head of the discipline inspection team; second, the Central Military Commission holding a secret meeting on July 6 under the guise of collective study, which was actually Zhang Shengmin's front-line command deployment to arrange military power positions ahead of the August Beidaihe meeting.

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In mid-January this year, two things happened in Zhongnanhai that nobody knew about at the time, both of which later leaked outside the wall. First, Wen Jiabao summoned Foreign Minister Wang Yi and had several private talks with him, cleaning up the house before playing host. Second, Hu Jintao slammed down the briefing papers concerning foreign affairs. While Iran experienced nationwide strikes and business closures for two weeks with the regime teetering on the edge, the briefing submitted by the embassy still claimed the situation was under control, which he called misleading the central leadership. These two matters were suppressed without a sound for half a year, and last week the echo finally arrived. On July 3, the head of an association run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself was arrested. On July 7, a vice minister originating from the Ministry of State Security walked into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building bearing the title of head of the discipline inspection team. Wang Yi was still away in Northern Europe, traveling from country to country, while the lock cylinders at his home had already been changed. Today's episode covers both ends. The first end: what exactly was piled up inside this room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that was so filthy that Wen Jiabao gave word half a year ago to sweep it clean. The second end: the Military Commission just held a meeting without the commander-in-chief; that was not a study session, it was the duty roster allocation table for Beidaihe in August.

On July 3, an association head named Quan Shunji was placed under investigation. The association he managed was the China Association for International Economic Cooperation, which was set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs itself specifically to handle people-to-people relations with Japan and South Korea on behalf of the ministry. When he became the head in 2019, the person in charge of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was none other than Wang Yi, so investigating him means the investigation has reached the people under Wang Yi. Following the accounts and personnel of this association upward will eventually trace everything back to Wang Yi. When this strike came down, many people didn't take it seriously, thinking an association head couldn't touch those inside the ministry, but we have been keeping a close eye on this matter. Sure enough, the fourth day brought the second step: on July 7, Lianhe Zaobao reported that the list of major officials on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already been updated to include Li Qian assuming the post of head of the discipline inspection and supervision team stationed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. Li Qian was previously a vice minister at the Ministry of State Security, an intelligence agency that catches spies and prevents infiltration. Vice ministers there often remain hidden from the public for years, their names missing from reports and even incomplete in online encyclopedias. A person who has spent half a lifetime working in the shadows has now walked into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building with the title of discipline inspection team head. Discipline inspection team heads stationed in various ministries and commissions oversee corruption investigations for every official in the department, and cadres must pass through their review before getting promoted. This team reports directly to the system led by Li Xi and Liu Jinguo. To put it bluntly, a person who does not listen to Wang Yi has henceforth taken a seat inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Arresting the association head first on July 3 was opening a peripheral case. Having the discipline inspection team head in place on July 7 was entering the headquarters. This is the standard pace for handling a case, not a routine rotation.

Why did the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection insist on sending people into this building? Because this building hides the most sensitive and unspeakable ledgers in all of China. To understand this ledger, we must first figure out that on the surface, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State Council represents the state, while behind the scenes is the International Department of the CCP Central Committee, which operates directly under the Central Committee. Private business that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot handle openly is handled secretly by the International Department. Rumor has it outside the wall that the secret overseas assets of the CCP's red families reach as high as $20 trillion, and the chief steward of this massive fortune is none other than the International Department. Whose family has a secret trust in a Swiss bank, and whose family runs an iron ore business in Australia that bypasses customs—these are all managed secretly by the International Department. Hearing this, you might ask: since the International Department manages the private accounts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs manages the public accounts, why was Li Qian sent into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this time, and how can he manage the International Department and the private accounts of those high-ranking figures? What is the actual relationship between the two?

Although the red families have $20 trillion in assets overseas, for these money to circulate internationally and be transferred secretly into offshore accounts, can they bypass the sovereign-level financial accounts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' overseas embassies and consulates? What do those confidential equity agreements and massive cashier's checks of gold bars rely on if they don't go through customs? They rely on the diplomatic pouches of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which enjoy immunity and absolute exemption from inspection, as well as those overseas white gloves who cover for the red families and handle the coordination, laundering the public Belt and Road Initiative funds into private black money—such as Quan Shunji's association, which is nominally affiliated under the big umbrella of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The International Department holds only the head of the ledger, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds the neck of the capital flow. As soon as Li Qian arrives, he doesn't need to touch the International Department at all; he only needs to freeze the sovereign accounts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, inspect the diplomatic pouches, and cut off all the blood vessels of peripheral white gloves like Quan Shunji. In an instant, the $20 trillion hidden in Swiss banks and the Cayman Islands by conservative heavyweights like Zeng Qinghong and the red families will all become visible yet untouchable and unmovable dead money.

At the upcoming Beidaihe meeting, the conservative faction led by Zeng Qinghong still wants to continue pushing Old Xi to the front as a shield, stubbornly refusing to compromise with the reform and opening-up faction on policy lines and personnel. Meanwhile, Wen Jiabao can then slap the secret financial pipelines and white-glove lists sealed by Li Qian at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs right onto the negotiation table in Beidaihe. Esteemed veteran comrades, every single penny you have overseas, which diplomatic back-channel it took, and which overseas embassy's hands it passed through—now Li Qian holds them all in the palm of his hand. If you still refuse to back down today and refuse to adjust the state's political line back, then I'm sorry, we will completely overturn this cash transport vehicle today, and your children and grandchildren, who live in luxury overseas, will also have their water and food cut off along with it. Wen Jiabao has directly placed a knife at the lifeline of the red families.

However, political struggles in Zhongnanhai have never directly flipped the table right from the start. Wen Jiabao and Hu Jintao actually gave Wang Yi a chance to save himself; we have to dial the time back to January of this year. At that time, Beijing first saw Hu Jintao waking up from illness in shock after reading an internal briefing submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and he slammed the briefing down fiercely. A large number of people in Iran had already taken to the streets, and even engaged in nationwide strikes and work stoppages for over two weeks, with the economy on the verge of collapse, yet the Chinese embassy still emphasized in the briefing that the situation of the Iranian regime was controllable. In politics, under any dynasty, this is a capital crime of deceiving the emperor. Immediately following this, also in January, Wen Jiabao personally had several heart-to-heart talks with Wang Yi, leaving him with a profound and earnest remark: clean the house before inviting guests. This phrase has a significant origin; back when Mao Zedong founded the state and established diplomatic guidelines, the original phrase was called "sweep the house clean before inviting guests," meaning first clear out the Kuomintang and imperialists inside the house, and then open the front door to welcome guests. Wen Jiabao handing this phrase to Wang Yi brought the political implication to a critical tipping point. This house of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—the international relations smashed by the wolf warrior path, the empty and deceitful briefings, and especially those back-channel pipelines transporting money and laundering cash for the red families—you, Wang Yi, as the head of the family, must clean it up yourself. Only when you clean it up can we, the reform and opening-up faction, do business with the West again, can the guests be invited decently, and can you, Wang Yi, make a safe landing. This was actually the last chance for self-cleansing and surrender given to Wang Yi by Wen Jiabao.

Yet half a year has passed, and let's take a look at what this smooth-talking foreign minister has actually done of the two halves. He worked very hard on the half about inviting guests: inviting the King of Spain, the President of France, the President of South Korea, and the Prime Minister of Canada to Beijing in batches. Just these few days, he is still in Northern Europe—meeting the President of Sweden on July 5, the President of Finland on the 6th, and the Prime Minister of Norway on the 7th. As for the half about sweeping the house? For half a year, there has been no movement. Is Wang Yi really that stupid? Does he not know that Wen Jiabao is watching him? He is far too smart and absolutely dares not to clean this house, because hidden underneath the floorboards of this house is not ordinary dust, but the trillion-dollar financial veins and channels of conservative elite families like Zeng Qinghong that we mentioned earlier. This money is the lifeline of the red heavyweights. If Wang Yi truly listened to Wen Jiabao's words, personally cut off these financial flows, and investigated those peripheral white gloves, he would have to suffer a heart attack in his sleep by tomorrow. Therefore, Wang Yi's choice is to use delaying tactics to muddle through the ultimatum given to him by Wen Jiabao, but he obviously underestimated the CCP elders: if you don't sweep, they will send people to help you sweep.

On July 3, his subordinate white-glove financial figure, Association President Kwon Soon-ki, was arrested. On July 7, Li Qian, who has a state security (MSS) background, officially stepped into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building; at that moment, the broom was completely out of Wang Yi's hands. This move had already been anticipated outside the wall; a leak in early May regarding internal struggles mentioned roughly that Wen Jiabao had already sent Liu Jinguo to target Wang Xiaohong's Public Security Bureau, and it was estimated that someone would soon be sent to target Wang Yi's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Two months later, after Li Qian reported for duty, where Wang Yi himself would go is a matter of speculation outside the wall. One theory is that someone has to take the blame for wolf-warrior diplomacy, and he will have to be buried alongside Cai Qi for the supreme commander. Another theory is that he has already jumped ship; last summer, during a closed-door meeting in Europe, he reportedly said that the CCP could not endure a Russian defeat, and this was supposedly leaked, effectively revealing Xi's diplomatic bottom card to the West and paving the way for a new line, perhaps allowing him to land safely in the future. Which theory comes true is not for us to guess; it will be determined by the ledger that Li Qian flips through hereafter. Sending someone with a state security (MSS) background to serve as the discipline inspection team leader's purpose is right here: first turn the house upside down, and whether he stays or goes depends on what is uncovered.

On July 6, a top-tier Central Military Commission study meeting that should have been personally presided over by the number-one big boss was convened. The theme of the meeting was specifically to study this big boss's latest spirit from the July 1st anniversary celebration. Yet, while the chairs in the audience were filled, the big boss who should have occupied the main seat on the stage did not show up at all. Someone blew wind on the side saying the big boss is extremely busy with state affairs, and his absence from a mere ordinary major lecture proves nothing. Is that so? Then let us examine what kind of meeting this actually was. The Central Military Commission conducted collective study; the Military Commission has been operating for decades, when has there ever been a program like collective study? Only the Political Bureau has that, where twenty-some big shots sit together and collectively listen to experts give lectures. The Military Commission also having collective study is an unprecedentedly newly minted event. Why do this? They simply wanted to hold a meeting; Zhang Shengmin had a top-secret list in his hands, and he wanted to summon this batch of generals who hold real power, are extremely delicate, and even extremely sensitive into the August 1 Building, but this matter could not be given a chance for a pocket veto by the big boss. Imagine if today old Zhang dared to convene a formal military work meeting in the name of the Military Commission, the big boss as the nominal commander possessed a pocket veto; as long as he sensed the slightest anomaly and waved his hand, the meeting would abort. What to do then? Old Zhang and the others pondered and came up with a brilliant plan: let's hold a collective study, it is not a formal decision-making meeting, it's a class. Since it's a class, the nature changes completely. Studying the big boss's latest speech spirit is politically called absolutely correct; even with ten thousand suspicions, the big boss could absolutely not stand up and oppose it. Since it's listening to a class to study the spirit, Zhang Shengmin could say we specially expanded the scope of study, inviting all the regional lords and real-power generals responsible for the capital's defense fortresses to come and listen together. Thus, those four words "collective study" became a universal political key, legally stuffing all the delicate figures who couldn't otherwise enter into the August 1 Building. Even if the big boss was anxious inside the Red Walls, he couldn't pick out a single flaw. Just like that, a secret military mobilization meeting that would originally have triggered high alert or even been regarded as a mutiny warning was brazenly, legally, and compliant with regulations convened right under the big boss's nose. The reason the official release had a guilty conscience and left the attendee list blank is precisely because once this list is made public, the whole world will understand that those sitting in the audience of this class were by no means students, but rather an entire front-line command team ready at any moment in August at the Beidaihe Meeting to execute a military encirclement against the big boss.

In the power games within the Red Wall, a bloody iron rule has circulated for decades: meetings must be secured by the military, and whoever the military takes orders from is the one who ultimately calls the shots. Last midsummer in Beidaihe, according to the defense protocols inherited by the Red Wall, the security of Zhongnanhai, where the Big Boss resides, was under the jurisdiction of the Central Guard Bureau, while the ground defense of the capital was the domain of the police and the People's Armed Police. As for the field armies, without the personal written order of the supreme commander, they were absolutely forbidden from stepping even half a step into the capital; otherwise, the commanding officer would be sent directly to a military tribunal. Yet, in early August of last year, the 82nd Group Army stationed in Baoding suddenly received orders to mobilize, directly taking over the defense of the entire seaside resort and Zhongnanhai. At the time, Han Shiming, the director of the Big Boss's imperial office, attempted to intervene, was taken down on the spot, and has had no news since. Once the 82nd Group Army entered Beijing and Beidaihe, the wind on the negotiating table shifted, and the consensus turned directly into four extremely ruthless words: full retirement, naked retirement. The reason they were able to station themselves there was because of that September 3rd military parade last year. A military parade is something that can be canceled at any time if one doesn't want to hold it; back in the summer of 1989, the 40th National Day parade was canceled immediately after the turmoil. Insisting on holding it must have had its purpose. As a result, under the guise of the grand parade, the heavy armor of the 82nd Group Army entered the urban area of Beijing in July. Afterward, the 82nd Group Army did not leave; it kept guarding Beijing until it withdrew to Baoding after the conclusion of the Fourth Plenary Session in October. At that time, when the Fourth Plenary Session was being held at the Jingxi Hotel, Dong Yijun, the deputy director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau and chief secretary to Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong, led a team to block the military control and was struck heavily by a rifle butt, dying on the spot. It was within such a circle of dark, gaping sentry posts that the Big Boss completely surrendered party power. Looking at last year's operations, you can fully understand why Zhang Shengmin insisted on holding an incongruous collective study session on July 6th, because the Beidaihe meeting this year has already begun scheduling. In that conference room with the curtains drawn tight on July 6th, what specific sensitive details Old Zhang discussed with the generals sitting below with collar badges and cold eyes will never be officially put on paper, but it is certain that the general direction and tone for the next month were clearly laid out in that conference room on that day. This is the truest trump card of the collective study session on July 6th. This is Jiang Feng Vision

We will see you in the next episode