Li Zhanshu (; born August 30, 1950) is a Chinese politician, and the current outgoing chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. He was the third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, China's top decision-making body, between 2017 and 2022. Li began his political career in rural regions of his native Hebei province, rising through the ranks as the Communist Party Secretary of Xi'an, Governor of Heilongjiang province, and the Party Secretary of Guizhou province. In 2012, he became chief of the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party. Following the 18th Party Congress, Li became one of the top advisors to party General Secretary Xi Jinping. He is regarded by the media as a senior member of "Xi Jinping Clique", one of the main political factions within the Chinese Communist Party. Early career Li was born in Pingshan County, Hebei province on August 30, 1950. He became a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1975. He started his career as an ordinary functionary in the capital of his home province, Shijiazhuang, working as an office worker for the Shijiazhuang commercial bureau and the Shijiazhuang party committee. In 1980, Li studied night school at Hebei Normal University. After graduating, he was promoted to Party Secretary of Wuji County (at around the same time, the party chief of neighbouring Zhengding County was Xi Jinping, current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party). For the next decade, Li took on progressively senior roles in Hebei province, including deputy party chief and Commissioner of Shijiazhuang prefecture (not equivalent to mayor), head of the provincial Communist Youth League organization, Commissioner of Chengde prefecture, member of the Party Standing Committee of Hebei and Secretary-General of the provincial party committee. In a leaked US Diplomatic cable from 2008, Li told US diplomats that he had the "unwelcome distinction" of leading the first CYL delegation to the US following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Regional leadership In 1998, Li was transferred to Shaanxi province to serve on its party leadership council and become the head of its provincial Organization Department. Beginning in January 2002, Li became the Party Secretary of Xi'an. In May, he concurrently took on the role of deputy party chief of Shaanxi province. During his term in Xi'an, Li was known to have set the goal for Xi'an to become the "best city in