Rising stars give hope to China's marginalized Youth League faction

New generation of alumni born in 1980s start filling high-level posts

20210809NY Hu Chunhua China

Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, left, holds a news conference in London with Philip Hammond, then the British chancellor of the exchequer, in June 2019. Hu belongs to the Youth League faction and has long been seen as a possible future premier. © Reuters

SHUNSUKE TABETA, Nikkei staff writer

BEIJING -- Young talent from the Communist Youth League of China has quietly risen through the Communist Party's ranks, setting the stage for a future comeback by a faction that once produced top leaders but has been largely sidelined under President Xi Jinping.

The southern province of Yunnan is home to one of these up-and-comers. Duan Ying, head of the province's investment promotion bureau, discussed one of Xi's top economic priorities -- supply chains -- in a meeting with local officials and business figures last month. She called on attendees to "check the state of supply chains in every industry" and "have top companies serve as role models."

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