BEIJING -- The former chief of China's Xinjiang region is now working in a senior agricultural post elsewhere in the country, state media reported last week, an effective demotion for an official Washington accuses of overseeing human rights abuses against ethnic Uyghurs in the nation's far west.
Some observers say the move indicates that President Xi Jinping could be trying to ease tensions with the U.S. ahead of a twice-a-decade national congress in autumn, where he is expected to secure a third term as leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
It had been unclear where Chen Quanguo was working after he was shifted from his role as the CCP's chief in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region late last year. But, Xinhua News Agency last week reported that Chen had attended a June 14 meeting on agricultural policy as deputy head of the party's so-called Central Rural Work Leading Group. Vice Premier Hu Chunhua heads the group.
According to a source in the Chinese media, this marked an effective demotion in the run up to the national congress, with Chen unlikely to reappear on the front line of the party given that he is 66 years old. It is also unclear whether he can survive as a Politburo member.
Chen, who served as the CCP's Xinjiang head from 2016 till 2021, was appointed to the Politburo in 2017 -- ranking him among the party's top 25 officials. He would also have been eligible to join the party's highest body, the Politburo Standing Committee, at the national congress.
Chen's "demotion" has stoked speculation that Beijing is looking to soothe festering tensions with Washington.
Chen was sanctioned by the U.S. government under former President Donald Trump, which accused him of violating human rights in Xinjiang.
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit organization, in May released a report that said Chen had ordered guards to shoot to kill anyone trying to escape detention facilities in the region after "even a few steps." News of Chen's new post emerged soon after the nonprofit's report sparked howls of protest in many Western countries.
Observers say other personnel changes also indicate a possible softer stance toward the U.S.
The government announced on June 14 -- the day after news of Chen's new role was reported -- that it was transferring Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng to the post of deputy head of the National Radio and Television Administration, which oversees media organizations in China.
Le, who had been regarded as a potential successor to Foreign Minister and State Councilor Wang Yi, is seen as an architect of China's "wolf warrior diplomacy" against countries China views as hostile. His new job takes him away from such strategy.
Stable Sino-U.S. relations are a top priority for China's leadership ahead of the national congress as a deepening slowdown in the world's No. 2 economy ramps up pressure to revive trade with Europe and Asia in the wake of a series of disputes over the last few years that included tit-for-tat measures such as tariffs.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on June 18 that he plans to talk with Xi soon, with his administration reportedly considering lifting some tariffs on Chinese goods.