CPPCC Standing Committee Member Bi Jingquan Under Investigation; State Administration for Market Regulation Rushes to Distance Itself?

Composite image of Bi Jingquan, member of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC. (Source: Dajiyuan)

[People News] On May 29, Bi Jingquan, a standing committee member of the 14th Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and deputy director of its Economic Committee, was placed under investigation, becoming the latest high-ranking official at the ministerial level to fall. On May 30, the Party Leadership Group of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) immediately held a meeting, expressing firm support for the Party Central Committee’s decision to investigate Bi Jingquan, signalling an apparent effort to distance itself from him. Records show that Bi Jingquan served as Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the SAMR in 2018.

According to a report released on the evening of May 29 by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, Bi is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law, and is currently undergoing a disciplinary review and supervisory investigation.

On May 30, a reporter from People's Daily found a report on the State Administration for Market Regulation's website indicating that a meeting was held that day, chaired by Luo Wen, the Party Group Secretary and Director of the Administration. The meeting communicated the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's decision to conduct a disciplinary review and supervisory investigation into Bi's serious violations. The report noted that all attendees expressed unanimous support for the decisions made by the Party Central Committee, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and the National Supervisory Commission. The meeting also stressed the importance of understanding key issues of right and wrong, political principles, purifying social circles, and maintaining integrity and cleanliness in conduct.

External analysis suggests that Bi Jingquan resigned from his position as Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the State Administration for Market Regulation in 2018, marking seven years since he left that role. On the 29th, it was announced that Bi Jingquan was under investigation, and the following day, the Party Leadership Group of the State Administration for Market Regulation convened a meeting to express their position, seemingly indicating a dissociation from him. Analysts believe that Bi Jingquan's investigation is likely closely tied to his tenure as the Director of the National Medical Products Administration and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Public records indicate that Bi Jingquan was born in September 1955 in Qing'an County, Heilongjiang Province. In his early career, he worked at the National Development and Reform Commission of the Communist Party of China, where he held various positions, including Director of the Economic and Trade Department, Secretary-General, and Deputy Director.

In March 2008, Bi Jingquan was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council, assisting then Vice Premier Wang Qishan. After Li Keqiang assumed the role of Premier of the Communist Party in March 2013 and led the State Council, Bi Jingquan assisted Vice Premier Wang Yang.

In February 2015, Bi Jingquan became the Director of the National Medical Products Administration.

In March 2018, he took on the role of Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Notably, in July 2018, a major vaccine fraud scandal involving Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology Company in Jilin emerged, causing a nationwide uproar. At that time, in addition to seven provincial-level leaders in Jilin being held accountable, Wu Zhen, the former Deputy Director of the National Medical Products Administration, who was responsible for vaccine oversight, was placed under investigation and later sentenced to 16 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power. In August 2018, Bi Jingquan resigned in connection with this incident.

After two years out of the public spotlight, Bi Jingquan (毕井泉) was appointed in August 2020 as a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and as the deputy director of the Economic Committee. In 2023, he was further appointed as a standing committee member of the 14th CPPCC and retained his position as deputy director of the Economic Committee.

Now 70 years old, Bi Jingquan has been retired for several years. Cai Shenkun (蔡慎坤), a veteran Chinese media personality based in the United States, remarked on the X platform that he was surprised to see Bi Jingquan re-emerge after so long, implying that no one is truly safe during Xi Jinping's administration. Additionally, some netizens noted that Bi Jingquan's earlier resignation suggested he had problems, and now both past and present issues are being addressed.