New Zhijiang Army

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The New Zhijiang Army (simplified Chinese: 之江新军; traditional Chinese: 之江新軍; pinyin: Zhījiāng Xīnjūn), also known as the Xi Jinping faction (Chinese: 习近平派系),^[1] is a term used by observers to represent political figures in the Chinese Communist Party who are closely related to CCP general secretary Xi Jinping, most prominently those who held important provincial and local posts during Xi Jinping's term as Communist Party Secretary of Zhejiang province. The "new army" refers to people who were closely associated with Xi and identify with his political views, and who have since then taken on prominent political posts at the provincial level or in central party and state organs.

The term was first widely used by Ma Haoliang (马浩亮), editor at Hong Kong-based newspaper Ta Kung Pao in an article entitled the New Zhijiang Army of Chinese Politics. The term Zhijiang refers to the Qiantang River, which runs through the province, but is often used as a poetic reference for the greater Zhejiang region. The term was initially used as title to Xi Jinping's book Zhijiang Xinyu (之江新语), a book compiling the political philosophies of Xi Jinping during his five-year term as party chief of Zhejiang, published in 2007.^[2]

The people close to Xi Jinping have also been referred to as "Xi Clan" (simplified Chinese: 习家军; traditional Chinese: 習家軍; pinyin: Xí Jiājūn).^[3]