On March 27, 2026, Wang Yong, the former CEO and chairman of Jinchuan Group, was investigated. Jinchuan Group is the largest nickel-cobalt-platinum group non-ferrous metal smelting enterprise in China. In recent years, several senior executives of Jinchuan Group have been investigated, including Wang Yong who had worked with them.
During Wang Yong’s tenure at Jinchuan Group, he established cooperation with his alma mater Central South University. Former president of Central South University, academician Zhang Yaoxue, and vice president Guo Xueyi had fallen from grace in October 2025 and December 27, 2025, respectively. Several alumni of Central South University, Zhao Zhengyong, Qin Guangrong, and Xiao Yaqing, who are high-ranking officials, have also been investigated in recent years.
According to the official website of the Communist Party of China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, Wang Yong, the deputy director of the Financial and Economic Committee of the Gansu Provincial People’s Congress, is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.”
Public records show that Wang Yong was born in October 1966 in Changyuan, Henan Province, but hail from Jinchang, Gansu Province. After graduating with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Central South University of Technology, he worked at Jinchuan Group from June 1991 to March 2004 for 13 years, holding positions such as deputy director of Jinchuan Mining Department and mine manager of Jinchuan Nonferrous Metals Company No. 2 mine area. In July 2001, he was promoted to deputy general manager and secretary of the Party Committee of Jinchuan Group.
From March 2004 to September 2011, Wang Yong served as deputy director and party committee member of the Gansu Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, secretary of the Youth League Committee of Gansu Province, director and party secretary of the Gansu Provincial Government Office of Foreign Affairs (Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office).
Returning to Jinchuan Group as CEO and deputy secretary of the Party Committee in September 2011, Wang Yong was promoted to member of the Standing Committee of the Jinchang Municipal Party Committee in July 2017, serving as secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of Jinchuan Group. In July 2023, he was appointed as the deputy director of the Financial and Economic Committee of the Gansu Provincial People’s Congress.
Currently, the reasons behind Wang Yong’s downfall remain unclear. From September 2011 to July 2023, he served as CEO and chairman of Jinchuan Group for 12 years.
Jinchuan Group, founded in 1959 and headquartered in Jinchang, Gansu Province, is a super large non-ferrous metal smelting and deep processing enterprise controlled by the Gansu provincial government. It owns the world’s third-largest copper-nickel sulfide deposit, serving as a production base for nickel-cobalt in China, a platinum metal extraction center, and the largest copper producer in the northern region. Its main products include nickel, copper, cobalt, gold, silver, platinum group precious metals, advanced non-ferrous metal materials, and chemical products. It ranks second in nickel production, fourth in cobalt production globally, third in copper production domestically, and number one in platinum group metal production in Asia.
Nickel, cobalt, platinum group precious metals, and other non-ferrous metals have always been key materials for the development of high-tech industries, widely used in aerospace, national defense, electronics information, new energy, and other important fields.
According to official reports, in recent years, several senior executives of Jinchuan Group have been investigated.
Former chairman of Jinchuan Group, Yang Zhiqiang, was investigated in December 2020, two years after retiring. In January 2023, he was sentenced to fifteen years and six months in prison for bribery and abuse of power as a state-owned company employee. Yang Zhiqiang had a long career in Jinchuan Nonferrous Metals Company and Baisi Nonferrous Metals, serving as party secretary and vice-chairman of Jinchuan Group from December 2007 and then as party secretary and chairman from February 2009 to April 2017.
Former deputy general manager of Jinchuan Group, Bao Guozhong, was investigated in April 2021, four years after retiring. In June 2023, he was sentenced to twelve years and six months in prison for bribery and abuse of power as a state-owned company employee. Bao Guozhong worked at Jinchuan Group for a long time, starting as deputy general manager from July 2001 until he retired in April 2017.
Wu Jun, the deputy head of the Economic Committee of the Gansu Provincial People’s Political Consultative Conference, was investigated in March 2022. Wu Jun had worked at Jinchuan Group for over thirty years from 1982 to 2015, holding positions such as director of the Technical Center, director of the Nickel-Cobalt Research Institute, and assistant general manager. From August 2008 to September 2015, he served as deputy general manager of Jinchuan Group.
Public reports state that Wang Yong graduated from Central South University of Technology with a major in mining engineering. Starting in September 2012, when Wang Yong was serving as the CEO of Jinchuan Group, he began cooperation between the company and his alma mater.
On April 12, 2023, Wang Yong, the Party Secretary and Chairman of Jinchuan Group, led a team to Central South University for inspection and discussions with university leaders, expressing the intention to establish in-depth cooperation. Guo Xueyi, a standing committee member of the Party Committee and vice president of Central South University, proposed designating responsible persons from both sides to advance the construction of a new research and development platform.
Guo Xueyi, who served as vice president of Central South University, was investigated while still in office on December 27, 2025. On October 17, 2025, his former superior, Zhang Yaoxue, the former president of Central South University and academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, was also investigated.