Chinese Real Estate Giant Vanke’s Founder Wang Shi said that the fabrication of rumors such as “Wang Shi being arrested” has caused actual harm to him, including several financial institutions temporarily delaying credit approvals for him and related enterprises, as well as several key personnel leaving the company. He has filed a report on this matter.
Wang Shi’s legal representative, lawyer Zhou Zhaocheng from the Beijing An Jian Law Firm, published a “Reflection Letter” signed by Wang Shi on June 8th and submitted to the Cyberspace Administration of the Communist Party of China on June 22nd on Weibo.
The letter stated, “Recently, hundreds of accounts have systematically fabricated false information and spread malicious defamatory content against Wang Shi across various online platforms, creating sustained and large-scale online violence.”
It is claimed that this has caused significant actual damage to Wang Shi: “Several collaborating financial institutions have temporarily delayed credit approvals for me and related enterprises; many key personnel of the company have resigned; long-term business partners have urgently terminated business negotiations; the normal operation of the enterprise has been severely impacted; and even some false information has been quoted and reproduced by domestic and foreign media, leading to serious damage to my business reputation and social evaluation. The related negative impacts are still spreading, and economic losses continue to escalate.”
Zhou Zhaocheng stated in an interview with Economic Daily that the misinformation involved falls into three categories: firstly, the fabrication of false rumors regarding “Wang Shi being arrested or involved in criminal activities”; secondly, linking the operational status of enterprises with false statements such as “being held responsible for losses due to Vanke’s operations”; and thirdly, fabricating false information regarding Wang Shi’s personal life and health status out of thin air.
Currently, Wang Shi has reported the case to the public security authorities in Shenzhen and has also filed a civil lawsuit for defamation and a criminal lawsuit for defamation with the Yantian District Court in Shenzhen, both of which have been officially filed.
On the 22nd, Wang Shi reposted Zhou Zhaocheng’s post on Weibo.
Wang Shi is known as the “soul figure of Vanke.” In 2015, the “Battle of Baoneng” occurred, with Huarun eventually withdrawing, Baoneng retreating, and Shenzhen Metro Group becoming the major shareholder of Vanke. On June 21, 2017, Wang Shi, then 66 years old, announced his retirement as Chairman of Vanke, with Yu Liang taking over. He remained as the honorary chairman of the board but ceased to be involved in corporate governance.
In recent years, against the backdrop of the continued downturn in the Chinese real estate market, Vanke has faced a debt crisis, with frequent incidents involving top management.
On January 8th of this year, Vanke announced that due to reaching the retirement age, Yu Liang submitted a written resignation report to the board, resigning as a director and executive vice president, and stated that he would not hold any position at Vanke after his resignation. By January 28th, Chinese media reported that Yu Liang had been out of contact for half a month and might be under investigation. Subsequently, rumors began to circulate about Wang Shi also being out of contact.
Former President of Vanke, Zhu Jiusheng, resigned from his position in January 2025 and was reported to have been subject to forced measures by the media in October. Former Chairman of Vanke, Xie Jie, was taken away for investigation on September 18, 2025, and resigned in October.