Corruption Crisis Again Rocks China’s Military: Reports Say Two Defense Electronics Giants Under Investigation

The CCP's Military Corruption Runs Deep, Severely Weakening the Army's Combat Effectiveness. (Image from the internet)

[People News] Corruption in the top echelons of the Chinese military and defense-related entities is always sensitive and concerning to the public, as scandals involving the Ministry of Defense, Rocket Force, and Equipment Development Department have already impacted Xi Jinping’s authority. These developments have raised questions internationally about whether peace in the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and other regions will be threatened by the Chinese military.

Recent reports indicate a collapse-level corruption scandal at China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), a giant in China's military electronics sector. On October 25, Caixin reported that Chen Zhaoxiong, former vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and former chairman of CETC, has been taken in for investigation by relevant authorities. Earlier, CETC’s former general manager Wu Manqing was also detained. CETC Deputy General Manager He Wenzhong was recently arrested on bribery charges, with official announcements accusing him of “living off military technology.”

CETC, a large state-owned enterprise founded on February 25, 2002, is a leader in China’s military electronics sector, covering electronic equipment, network information systems, industrial infrastructure, and cybersecurity, which are critical for China’s national security and the development of new military capabilities. CETC has 47 national research institutes, 26 enterprises, over 700 affiliated units, 17 publicly traded companies, and employs 200,000 people, of which 55% are involved in research and development. CETC has played a key role in projects like the Beidou Satellite Navigation System and FAST (the “Sky Eye” telescope).

Chen Zhaoxiong, 63, previously served as Vice Governor of Hunan Province and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. He and Wu Manqing, 59, are not only senior executives in state-owned enterprises but also military technology experts.

Chen began his career at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, later becoming Vice General Manager at China Electronics Corporation, then Chairman of China Great Wall Computer Group in 2004. In 2007, Chen was appointed Vice Governor of Hunan, and in 2015 he returned to Beijing to serve as Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology. By May 2020, he became CETC’s chairman and Party Secretary. Chen led the completion of more than ten national scientific and technological projects, including the development of multilingual intelligent machine translation systems.

Wu Manqing is the Vice President and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and formerly served as president of the Academy of Electronic Sciences (Overall Research Institute). He became General Manager of CETC in 2018. Wu is considered a foundational figure in China’s digital array radar theory and technology and was a chief designer of the People’s Liberation Army’s integrated electronic information system. He developed the radar for the KJ-500 early warning aircraft and served as CETC’s chief engineer, director of the Academy of Electronic Sciences, deputy general manager, and general manager. Wu also served as director of the “National Engineering Laboratory for Social Security Risk Perception and Control Big Data Applications,” using big data and AI to support CCP stability measures, under Chen Zhaoxiong’s leadership.

News of Chen and Wu being taken in for investigation circulated on Chinese social media a few days ago. The two are said to have been implicated by He Wenzhong, CETC’s deputy general manager.

He Wenzhong was investigated in April and expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office on October 11. He was officially arrested on October 24. According to the CCP’s announcement, He’s bribery began before 2012, “living off military technology” and engaging in money-for-sex and power-for-money transactions, illegally receiving large sums of money.

The Financial Times reported that He’s investigation, given his position as a top executive at one of China’s largest military suppliers, is a new sign of unrest in the Chinese defense sector.

Since the exposure of a new wave of corruption in the Chinese military last year, at least dozens of high-ranking officials have been brought down, including former Defense Minister Li Shangfu and Rocket Force Commander Li Yuchao.

Aside from CETC, multiple senior officials in military enterprises have also fallen over the past year, including Wu Yansheng, chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation; Liu Shiquan, chairman of China North Industries Group; Wang Changqing, deputy general manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation; Feng Jiehong, chairman of China Aerospace Sanjiang Group; Wang Xiaojun, former president of China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology; Zhang Jianwu, former Party Secretary of the Changchun Institute of Equipment and Process under China North Industries Group; and Li Zhaozhi, former director of the Equipment Support Department of China North Industries Group.

Rumors about Chen and Wu being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection have circulated on social media since last week, with reports suggesting the two were implicated by He Wenzhong. The Caixin article reporting their detainment was mysteriously “404’d” on the same day, and related pages on Sina, Tencent, and Communications Home all disappeared. Tencent displayed a message saying, “The page you are looking for got lost on its way to finding dreams.” CETC has neither confirmed nor denied these rumors.

It’s worth noting that CETC subsidiary Hikvision was blacklisted by the U.S. government in 2019 for its alleged role in the persecution of Uyghur Muslims.