On June 10, Shanghai’s deputy mayor from the post-70s generation, Chen Yujian, was reported to have been placed under investigation. It is reported that his downfall may be related to the explosion of the Lianbi Financial P2P platform, one of the four major “high-return platforms” in the industry.
According to the report by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervisory Commission, Chen Yujian, a member of the Party group of the Shanghai municipal government and the deputy mayor, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and laws, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the central authorities.
This makes Chen Yujian the third “tiger” in Shanghai after Dong Yunhu and Zhu Zhisong since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China.
Chen Yujian was last seen in public at the end of last month. According to reports, on May 27-28, Chen Yujian led a team to inspect Anhui Safelabs Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd., Anhui Mansheng Packaging Co., Ltd., the Sixth People’s Hospital of Shanghai First People’s Hospital in Lu’an Tumor Hospital, Jinzhai County Revolutionary Museum, and a village revitalization demonstration site in Youfangdian Village, Jinzhai County.
According to information from the official website of the Shanghai municipal government, Chen Yujian ranks seventh among the eight deputy mayors of Shanghai, responsible for agriculture and rural areas, health, medical security, cooperation and exchange, and the construction of the Hengsha-Xinzhou Modern Agricultural Industry Park.
Chen Yujian’s sudden downfall has attracted widespread attention, with speculation linking it to the billion-yuan Lianbi Financial explosion case.
In May 2019, netizens reported online that when Chen Yujian served as the deputy district head of Songjiang District in 2016 and concurrently served as the leader of the Songjiang District Anti-Illegal Financial Activities Group, he did not take action after receiving reports that Lianbi Financial was acting as a tool for illegal self-financing by Feixun, operating beyond its scope, and even acted as its protector. Songjiang State-owned Assets Committee Secretary Li Xuemin had been the legal representative of Feixun, and Songjiang District Financial Office Director Ni Xinjian had served as a supervisor for Feixun.
The post alleged that after the Lianbi explosion, Chen Yujian, who was then the district head, instructed the Songjiang State-owned Assets Committee to transfer quality assets of Shanghai Feixun Company and instructed the Songjiang police to arrest Ning Jin, the legal representative of Lianbi Financial, and Gu Guoping, the founder of Feixun, making them scapegoats. After Lianbi Financial was emptied by Feixun, on June 20, 2018, the Songjiang police filed a case against Lianbi Financial and removed Ni Xinjian from his position as director of the financial office.
According to earlier reports from Cai Xin, in late June 2018, Lianbi Financial, one of the four major “high-return platforms” in the P2P industry, was investigated. On the day before the Lianbi Financial explosion, the Songjiang District government issued a notice to remove Ni Xinjian from his position as director of the Songjiang District Financial Office, and Ni Xinjian was one of the supervisors of Shanghai Feixun.
Shanghai Feixun is a company that produces routers and other intelligent terminals and provides technical services such as cloud storage. Li Xuemin, the legal representative of the company, is the chairman of Shanghai Songjiang State-owned Assets Investment and Management Group Co., Ltd., which indirectly holds 7.53% of Shanghai Feixun’s shares through two existing shareholders. Investors viewed this information as Shanghai Feixun’s “state-owned background.”
On December 8, 2021, the illegal fundraising case of “Lianbi Financial,” which affected more than 1.1 million victims and caused losses exceeding 12.5 billion yuan, was sentenced in the first instance. Gu Guoping was sentenced to life imprisonment for fundraising fraud, and others were sentenced to 15 to 10 years in prison for fundraising fraud.
Cai Xin reported that in November 2024, Chen Yujian’s colleague, Wang Xiangyang, who was then a member of the Minhang District Committee and deputy district head, was officially investigated. On April 27, 2026, Wang Xiangyang was sentenced to 11 years in prison for corruption, involving more than 29.59 million yuan.
Public information shows that Chen Yujian is from Tangcheng, Shandong, and his year of birth has two versions: February 1970 as published on the website of the Shanghai municipal government, and January 1972 as announced by the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Organization Department in 2017. He entered the Financial Manager Class of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in 1989, holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in public management, and is a senior economist.
Chen Yujian started his career in July 1993 and has since served as the deputy general manager of Shanghai Investment Advisory Company, the director of the High-tech Industry Department of Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, and the director of the Fixed Asset Investment Department, and deputy chief economist.
In December 2011, Chen Yujian was appointed as the deputy district head of Yangpu District, transferred to the deputy district head of Songjiang in May 2014, became the district head of Songjiang in August 2017, and then was appointed as the district head of Minhang in January 2020, before taking on the position of secretary of the Minhang District Committee in September 2021.
On December 28, 2023, during the ninth session of the 16th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee, the personnel appointment and removal matters were considered and approved, appointing Chen Yujian as the deputy mayor of Shanghai, advancing to the level of deputy minister. Meanwhile, in April 2024, he also served as the chairman of the Shanghai Red Cross Society.