By Rick Clay

China is no stranger to secrecy, but recent developments at the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) suggest something more profound than mere opacity: a potential unraveling of President Xi Jinping’s authority.

Multiple reports — though still unconfirmed by state media — indicate that Xi Jinping’s mother, Qi Xin, has passed away. In any ordinary context, the death of such a significant political figure would be a national event. In China, where symbolism, protocol, and ritual play a critical role in projecting unity and strength, the death of the sitting General Secretary’s mother carries enormous political and ideological weight.

Instead, Beijing has responded with complete and stunning silence.

Breaking With Tradition: A Political Earthquake

Qi Xin was no ordinary woman. A revolutionary veteran and widow of Xi Zhongxun — one of the CCP’s founding fathers — she embodied the legitimacy of the Party’s revolutionary lineage. Her close public relationship with Xi Jinping added to her symbolic importance. Under normal CCP protocol, the passing of such a figure would trigger several formal actions:
1. A State Obituary in official outlets like People’s Daily and Xinhua News Agency.
2. Formation of a State Funeral Committee, typically chaired by the General Secretary and joined by senior Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) members.
3. Public Mourning Ceremonies attended by top CCP officials, retired elders, and representatives of key Party bodies.
4. Wreaths, Messages, and State Visits to the bereaved, as acts of loyalty to the leader.

None of this happened.

There has been no obituary, no memorial, no official acknowledgment. Instead, the story has been confined to whispers in diplomatic circles, insider leaks on overseas Chinese platforms, and intelligence speculation. The lack of any state response is not just unusual — it is unprecedented. And in China, such deviations from protocol are not accidental. They are often deliberate signals.

What the Silence Suggests: A Crumbling Power Base

This public erasure of Qi Xin’s passing points to two major possibilities:
• Xi Jinping has lost substantial political authority within the CCP, to the extent that even ritual respect for his family is being denied or suppressed.
• The power struggle within the CCP has reached a point so severe that factions are openly defying protocol — or deeming Xi’s leadership too fragile to warrant even symbolic support.

This is a remarkable departure from the CCP’s obsession with unity and ritual. In past decades, the deaths of senior family members of Chinese leaders were treated with public solemnity and careful choreography. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping’s wife Zhuo Lin received a detailed state obituary. Even when political tides shifted — as they did against Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin — the ceremonial protocols were still observed.

Xi, it seems, has been denied even that.

Where Is Peng Liyuan? The Mystery Deepens

Compounding the sense of crisis is the sudden disappearance of Peng Liyuan, Xi Jinping’s wife and a public figure in her own right. A former military singer and popular cultural icon, Peng has long played a central role in China’s soft-power image abroad. She regularly accompanies Xi on diplomatic visits, especially to Asia and Russia, where spousal diplomacy is part of the unspoken protocol.

Yet her last public appearance was May 13th, 2025, and she was conspicuously absent from Xi’s recent high-level trips to Southeast Asia, Russia, and Central Asia.

This has fueled unconfirmed but persistent rumors that Peng may be under some form of house arrest or restricted movement. No official denial has been issued, nor has any clarification been provided by Chinese state media — an omission that, once again, speaks volumes in a system where silence is often more significant than speech.

The Bigger Picture: Foreign Affairs Now Out of Xi’s Hands?

These events are not isolated oddities. They are likely symptoms of a deeper institutional fracture within the CCP.

In recent months, foreign diplomats and intelligence analysts have observed a growing shift in China’s foreign policy tone — less ideologically assertive, more fragmented, and often at odds with Xi’s previously dominant “Wolf Warrior” posture. Some experts believe that a group of senior officials, possibly led by remnants of the Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao-era factions, are asserting greater control over foreign affairs, trade, and military strategy.

If Xi is indeed being marginalized, even partially, it may explain the unusual coordination of domestic silence and external moderation — as if different hands are on the levers of power in Beijing.

It’s also worth noting that several senior PLA and security officials have recently vanished from public life, been reassigned, or investigated — a pattern that suggests institutional purges or counter-purges are underway.

What This Means for China and the World

If these signals are correct, then China may be entering a period of elite instability not seen since the death of Mao Zedong. Xi Jinping, who has consolidated more power than any Chinese leader since Mao, may now be witnessing the beginning of its unraveling.

This would have profound consequences:
• Domestically, it could lead to policy paralysis or even a behind-the-scenes leadership transition.
• Regionally, it may embolden factions in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang who see Xi’s weakness as an opportunity.
• Globally, U.S.-China relations, decoupling dynamics, and military posturing in the South China Sea may shift as the power balance inside China changes.

Conclusion: The End of the Xi Era?

Nothing in China happens in plain view — especially when it comes to political power. But silence is its own form of communication. The absence of mourning for Qi Xin, the vanishing of Peng Liyuan, and the visible cracks in foreign policy coordination all point to an unprecedented shift in how power is being exercised — and challenged — within the CCP.

Whether this marks the beginning of Xi Jinping’s fall from grace or merely a turbulent rebalancing of party dynamics remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: The CCP is no longer operating according to the rules it once so rigidly enforced.

And when Beijing breaks with its own traditions, the world should pay very close attention.