Chinese president Xi Jinping has in recent weeks promoted a series of political allies, bringing his own power base into the upper ranks of the Communist party as he seeks to cement his legacy in his second term and beyond. 

Insiders are watching the political fortunes of the dozen or so officials known as the “New Zhijiang Army” who worked under him during his rise to the top job. The name of the group is a play on the name for Zhejiang province, the economic powerhouse just south of Shanghai where Mr Xi served as party secretary from 2002 to 2007.

Interpreting political appointments is a parlour game for diplomats and intellectuals in Beijing. The fate of his allies matters as a gauge of Mr Xi’s strength and because the top appointees hold powerful sway over important portfolios including propaganda, finance, domestic security and industrial policy.