Wang Xiaohong will become the new Minister of Public Security, making him one of the most powerful people in the Chinese state. The appointment was confirmed on Friday by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. The official Xinhua news agency reported this somewhat casually, amid a list of staffing decisions. Wang is a confidant of strongman Xi Jinping. He previously served as deputy minister in the same house. There is no word on the whereabouts of incumbent Zhao Kezhi, 69. As soon as Wang took office on June 25, the ministry announced a „one hundred-day summer special crackdown to restore public order“ (夏季治安打击整治百日行动).