At the height of China’s rapid economic growth and embrace of globalisation it was unusual for the children of senior officials to follow their parents into the public sector.
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While government jobs are seen as decent and secure, they are low-paid and demanding, and there are more constraints on personal choices compared to those in the private sector.
Instead, the sons and daughters of senior officials have often made headlines in the last two decades as the leaders of lucrative businesses, both in China and overseas.
But the trend appears to be reversing in recent years as the ruling Communist Party has tightened the rules around officials and their families as part of its sprawling anti-corruption drive, and amid a slowing economy.
Now, officials across various government agencies are working with colleagues from privileged backgrounds, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.
That includes the adult child of a Politburo Standing Committee member – one of seven men at the apex of power in China. The person joined an economic ministry in recent months as a vice director general and is now in charge of the day-to-day management of the department, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.