Recently, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially reported that the former member of the Central Political Bureau and former Secretary of the Xinjiang Party Committee, Ma Xingrui, was involved in “allowing and indulging relatives to use their positions for personal gain, engaging in family corruption.” Subsequently, mainland Chinese media revealed that Ma Xingrui’s younger brother, Ma Xingquan, had connections with political and business transactions in Shenzhen. Additionally, there have been upheavals in the political arena in Zhuhai and the crisis in management at Vanke, indirectly linked to this political-business transaction chain.
Ma Xingrui had a background in the aerospace industry and transferred from the aerospace system to a national ministry in 2013 before entering local government later that year. One of his significant positions was in Guangdong, where he served for 8 years. In November 2013, Ma Xingrui went to Guangdong as the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee. Over a year later, in March 2015, he also became the Secretary of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee. Ma Xingrui led Shenzhen for nearly two years before being appointed Acting Governor of Guangdong at the end of 2016 and Governor in January 2017, and later serving as the Secretary of the Xinjiang Regional Party Committee.
According to reports from Caixin, shortly after Ma Xingrui’s downfall in May 2026, Hu Donghai, the former Party Secretary and Chairman of the board of directors of CITIC Real Estate Development Platform (referred to as CITIC Real Estate), a state-owned enterprise under CITIC Group, was suddenly taken away. Hu Donghai was reportedly investigated for using the CITIC Real Estate name to scout real estate projects and profit from them in collaboration with a mysterious individual, leading to significant gains. Behind Hu Donghai were ties to the mysterious real estate businessman Wang Zhanjiang in the Shenzhen urban renovation field, creating a web of secretive political-business transactions that indirectly implicated Ma Xingrui’s relatives. This was considered a critical clue that confirmed the economic problems associated with Ma Xingrui.
In September 2013, CITIC Group established CITIC Real Estate, mainly engaged in urban commercial real estate investment and operational management. Hu Donghai served as the Party Secretary and Chairman of CITIC Real Estate for many years, having a close relationship with the mysterious businessman Wang Zhanjiang.
Wang Zhanjiang had previously founded Jilin Da Jiang Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. in Jilin and later established Huasheng Investment Co., Ltd. in Shenzhen around 2016.
The “Huasheng system” in Shenzhen gained access to dozens of urban renewal projects through deep ties with CITIC Real Estate. In September 2016, Huasheng Investment and CITIC Real Estate jointly established Shenzhen Xinghuo Xinteng Real Estate Co., Ltd. Initially, Wang Jianyu was the chairman of Shenzhen Xinghuo Xinteng Real Estate, but by April 2017, Hu Donghai became the new chairman. Thus, CITIC Real Estate became a major shareholder of Shenzhen Xinghuo Xinteng Real Estate.
The Chinese real estate industry faced a crisis in 2021. By the end of December 2025, Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court ruled for the bankruptcy of Huasheng Investment. In July 2024, CITIC Real Estate listed 40% of its shares in Shenzhen Xinghuo Xinteng Real Estate for transfer, with an initial price of only 1 yuan. However, there has been no buyer interest to date.
In October 2017, Wang Zhanjiang established a partnership firm in Shenzhen known as Qianhai Zhongsheng Investment Enterprise. In August 2021, the registration of this firm was canceled, and its registered address coincided with that of Shenzhen Qianhai Zifu Financial Holding Group, with Ma Shaofu serving as the chairman of the company. It was reported that Ma Shaofu had donated goods and money to Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang multiple times alongside Ma Xingquan, the brother of Ma Xingrui, who had served as the chairman of Beijing Zhan Yingxing Industry Technology Co., Ltd. before its dissolution in May 2023.
Ma Xingrui, around 67 years old, was born in Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang, in October 1959 and his ancestral home is Yuncheng, Shandong. In recent years, several companies from Guangdong have donated millions and sought cooperation in Shuangyashan, with Ma Xingquan acting as the intermediary. Ma Xingquan is also a Standing Committee member of the Shuangyashan Municipal People’s Congress.
According to Caixin reports, Zhuhai State-owned Enterprises were involved in the past financing cooperation with the “Huasheng system.” Subsequently, during the liquidation of Huasheng Investment, the primary entity applied to the court was the creditor Zhuhai Hansheng Technology Co., Ltd., with the second-largest shareholder being Zhuhai State-owned Enterprises’ wholly-owned subsidiary Zhuhai Rongasset Asset Management Co., Ltd.
In 2020, Zhuhai State-owned Enterprises invested in a core supplier of Evergrande. Following Evergrande’s crisis, this investment suffered severe losses. Since late March 2026, several officials in Zhuhai have been removed, including Guo Yonghang, the former Secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Party Committee and current Vice Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Guo Yonghang had served as the Secretary in Shenzhen after Ma Xingrui took over as Secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee.
Guo Yonghang, former Secretary of the Zhuhai Municipal Party Committee, fell from grace in March this year, with Caixin reporting that his investigation might be linked to his tenure in Zhuhai. Li Wenji, the Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Zhuhai, was officially removed from his position on April 2. Li Wenji had previously worked in state-owned enterprises or private enterprises in Shenzhen before joining Guo Yonghang in Zhuhai, becoming the legal representative and chairman of the Zhuhai Aero City in August 2019, and Director of the Zhuhai State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission in July 2021.
Reportedly, the “Huasheng system” sold two urban renewal projects in Shenzhen to Evergrande for billions of yuan, with one notable transaction occurring in May 2017. Following Evergrande’s financial difficulties, one of the projects came to a halt. In February 2023, the city’s relief platform, Shenzhen Anju Construction, took over these projects and changed their names.
Through complex project company equity operations, the “Huasheng system” sold a city renewal project in Longgang, Shenzhen, to Vanke and its “shadow company” Boshang system.
When Evergrande’s crisis began to surface, the Boshang system took risks to cover the huge losses of the “Huasheng system.” Three months before Evergrande’s official financial troubles in June 2021, the “Huasheng system” suddenly transferred full ownership of Shenzhen Xinhai Investment Company to Shenzhen Chenyao Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. This company belonged to the “Boshang system.”
Shenzhen Chenyao Investment used 5 billion yuan to acquire Shenzhen Xinhai Investment Company, with financial support appearing as accounts receivable from cooperative transactions on Vanke’s financial statements. By the end of 2025, the outstanding amount owed to Shenzhen Chenyao Investment in Vanke’s accounts receivable reached as high as 5.353 billion yuan.
As a result, Vanke suffered losses. In 2025, Vanke recorded a net loss attributed to the parent company of approximately 88.556 billion yuan. The loss increased by 78.98% year-on-year, with the aforementioned bad debt reserves playing a role in this.
On January 8, Vanke announced the retirement of Yu Liang due to age on January 8, resigning from the positions of Director and Executive Vice President. On January 28, mainland media reported that Yu Liang had been out of contact for half a month and might be under investigation. In January 2025, Vanke’s former president, Zhu Jiusheng, resigned from the presidency, and in October, media outlets revealed that he had been subjected to coercive measures. Vanke’s former Chairman, Shen Jie, was taken away for investigation on September 18, 2025.
责任编辑: 寧峰#