Li Changchun and Wang Qishan

In his book Remaking the Chinese Leviathan Market Transition and the Politics of Governance in China, Dali Yang noted that in early 1998, the Chinese central leadership staffed the top echelons of Guangdong (广东) with loyalists such as Li Changchun (李长春, left) and Wang Qishan (王岐山, right).

At that time, Li was a member of the Political Bureau and Guangdong provincial secretary, while Wang was the executive vice governor.

The reshuffle, Yang argued, "paved the way for fighting financial chaos, corruption, and smuggling in Guangdong."

The appointments also allowed the Party to investigate into a series of scandals "involving the bankruptcy of GITIC (Guangdong International Trust and Investment Corp) and the disgrace of former vice governor Yu Fei for abuse of power", as well as led to the arrests of several local officials in the province.

Little wonder then that Li and Wang are where they are today.