Zhao Leji (born 8 March 1957) is a Chinese politician who is the current chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), behind CCP general secretary and Premier.

In his earlier political career, he served as the party secretary of Qinghai, the party secretary of Shaanxi, and the head of the Organization Department of the CCP. He entered the CCP Politburo in 2012 and was promoted to the Politburo Standing Committee five years later. Between 2017 and 2022, he was the secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's top anti-corruption body.

Early life

Zhao Leji was born in Xining, Qinghai province on 8 March 1957. His parents were from Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The family moved to Qinghai as part of the aid the frontiers programs of the Mao years. In 1974, during the later years of the Cultural Revolution, Zhao went to the countryside as a sent-down youth to perform manual labour at an agricultural commune in Guide County, Qinghai. After working there for about a year, Zhao returned to the city to become a communications assistant at the Commerce Department of the Qinghai provincial government.

Zhao's tenure in Qinghai was marked by rapid economic growth, and a tripling of the province's GDP from the time he took office as Governor to when he left as party secretary in 2007. It was said that Zhao took a relatively soft approach on ethnic minority issues and took on environmentally conscious investment projects. His achievements in Qinghai were lauded by the party's central leadership. As the head of the Organization Department, Zhao was a critical figure in executing CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign. Zhao worked closely with Wang Qishan, the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party's highest internal-control institution that has been noted for executing the anti-corruption campaign; in 2014, the People's Daily said that "Whenever Qishan makes a move, Zhao Leji gets busy". During his tenure, Zhao also promoted poverty alleviation and strengthening Party control in trading estates, office buildings and internet companies.

Central Commission for Discipline Inspection

thumb|Zhao delivered a speech at the closing meeting of the [[second session of the 14th National People's Congress in March 2024]]

Zhao was chosen to be the 6th-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China's top decision-making body, at the 1st plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the CCP on 25 October 2017. In the same Session, he succeeded Wang Qishan to become the Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. According to The Wall Street Journal, Zhao "has been taking a largely hands-off approach during his time in office and barely involved in making decisions on investigations". In September 2021, Zhao spoke at a conference, announcing a nationwide audit of major financial firms and regulators.

National People's Congress Standing Committee

Following the first plenary session of the 20th CCP Central Committee, Zhao was reappointed to the Politburo Standing Committee, becoming its 3rd-ranked member, and was succeeded by Li Xi as the CCDI secretary. On 10 March 2023, he was appointed the chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, succeeding Li Zhanshu.

thumb|Zhao with British Prime Minister [[Keir Starmer in Beijing, 29 January 2026]]

In May 2023, Zhao visited Senegal and Morocco. In March 2024, during a meeting of the NPC Standing Committee, Zhao Leji pledged to revise the National Defense Education Law with a focus on "modernizing China’s system and capacity for national security". He also signaled changes in the Cybersecurity Law. The same month, he attended the Boao Forum for Asia, where he called on Asian countries to "jointly maintain security in Asia". He also called for implementing the Global Security Initiative. In April 2024, Zhao visited North Korea, making him the highest-level Chinese official who has visited North Korea since CCP general secretary Xi Jinping visited North Korea in 2019. During the visit, Zhao holds a meeting with his North Korean counterpart Choe Ryong-hae, the chairman of North Korea's legislative body and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.thumb|Zhao on March 14, 2025. Previously on 11 March, he missed the closing meeting of the third session of the [[14th National People's Congress due to a respiratory tract infection.]]

Zhao missed the closing meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress on 11 March 2025 due to a respiratory tract infection, which marked the first time in decades that the NPC closing meeting was not attended by all members of the Politburo Standing Committee. Vice Chairman Li Hongzhong was entrusted on Zhao's behalf. He reappeared on 12 March while attending a meeting with state media employees to thank them for their coverage of the session. In November 2025, Zhao visited New Zealand, where he met with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. He also visited Australia, where he met with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. In March 2026, he gave a speech at the Boao Forum for Asia, where he said "The people of Asia, having endured the scourge of war and chaos, deeply understand the value of peace and stability" and that "We should ... respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, adhere to non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, [and] resolve conflicts and differences through peaceful means".

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