Xi’s security chief among cohort of rising officials at White House banquet

Zhou Hongxu, the official who oversees President Xi Jinping’s security, made an appearance at the White House state banquet on Thursday night, alongside a cohort of other rising Chinese officials.

The banquet’s guest list described the 55-year-old People’s Liberation Army (PLA) major general as both director of the Central Guard Bureau and deputy director of the Communist Party’s General Office – the ruling party’s powerful administrative nerve centre.

Zhou has accompanied Xi at major international events for several years, including the Group of 20 summit in Bali in 2022 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in San Francisco in 2023.

His dual role as deputy director of the General Office aligns with precedent established during the tenure of previous Chinese leaders. According to Zhou’s scant official CV, he was born in the southwestern city of Chongqing and holds a master’s degree from the PLA’s artillery academy.