On April 14th, in the first instance of the bribery case involving Liu Weidong, former vice president of China Weapons Equipment Group, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for taking bribes totaling over 41.39 million yuan (RMB). Liu was investigated in February last year, shortly before his retirement.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Nanyang City, Henan Province, publicly announced the verdict on April 14th. According to the court, Liu Weidong, former member of the Party Committee and vice president of China Weapons Equipment Group Co., Ltd., was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the crime of bribery and fined 4 million yuan.
The court stated that from 1999 to 2025, Liu Weidong, in his various positions including general manager of Xiangfan Dongfeng Auto Electric Co., Ltd., department head of cooperative supporting department of Dongfeng Motor Corporation’s heavy truck company, general manager of Shenlong Auto Co., Ltd., vice president of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, general manager of Dongfeng Motor Group, general manager of passenger car company of Dongfeng Motor Group, vice president of China Weapons Equipment Group, and chairman of China Chang’an Auto Group Co., Ltd., abused his power and status to provide assistance to relevant units and individuals in business operations and job promotions, receiving a total of over 41.39 million yuan in cash and gifts.
Liu Weidong was investigated during his tenure in February of last year, just one year before his retirement. He was expelled from the Party in July of the same year, and then arrested in November. On January 16th of this year, the Intermediate People’s Court of Nanyang City publicly held a trial for the case.
Public records show that Liu Weidong was born in 1966 and worked at Dongfeng Motor for many years, holding positions such as general manager of Shenlong Auto Co., Ltd., and vice president of Dongfeng Motor Company.
In May 2018, Liu Weidong was appointed as vice president and member of the Party Committee of China Weapons Equipment Group, ranking fourth in the management hierarchy of the group, just below the chairman, general manager, and deputy secretary of the Party Committee.
In recent years, there has been a continuous “clean-up” within the Chinese Communist Party’s military-industrial complex, with several senior executives of state-owned enterprises in the defense sector falling from power. Since early January last year, speculation arose about the whereabouts of Liu Weidong’s superior, Chairman of China Weapons Equipment Group, Xu Xianping, who mysteriously disappeared.
From January 12th to 14th this year, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China was held. The official announcement revealed that 13 members of the Commission were absent, with an absentee rate of nearly 10%, including Xu Xianping.
China Weapons Equipment Group is mainly engaged in the research, design, and manufacturing of military equipment. Established on July 1, 1999, the group is one of the top ten military enterprises in the Communist Party of China and is a super-large state-owned central enterprise directly managed by the central government.