Amid the escalating COVID-19 outbreak in mainland China, at least four middle-aged company executives died within nine days from August 15 to August 23. Among them, Ma Jinxuan, chairman of Guangxi Maheng Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., passed away at the age of 43, while the other three were 56 years old.
On August 24, 2026, Borui Biology announced the obituary of Dr. Wang Haibin, the company’s director and CEO, who passed away on August 23 due to illness.
Established in 2019, Borui Biology is an innovative pharmaceutical company focusing on immunotherapy, formerly the biologics business unit of Haizheng Pharmaceutical. Haizheng Pharmaceutical, a state-owned enterprise in Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province, is one of China’s largest producers of antibiotics and antitumor drugs.
According to public records, Wang Haibin, a 56-year-old woman from Wenling, Zhejiang Province, joined Haizheng Pharmaceutical after graduating from Fudan University. From February 2011 to April 2020, she served as the senior vice president of Haizheng Pharmaceutical, overseeing the full process management of new drugs from preclinical research to commercialization. She joined Borui Biology in January 2019 as a director and was promoted to executive director in December 2025. During her tenure, Wang pursued master’s and doctoral degrees at Zhejiang University of Technology and Zhejiang University, respectively.
Wang Haibin previously served as a member of the Pharmacopoeia Committee under China’s National Medical Products Administration and received a special government allowance from the State Council.
According to public reports, within the past ten days, at least three more middle-aged company executives in mainland China have passed away.
On August 19, 2026, Lu Xingyu, a Communist Party member and deputy general manager of Guangxi Agribusiness Sugar Group Co., Ltd., died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 56 despite efforts to save him in the hospital. Lu Xingyu previously served as chairman and party secretary of Guangxi Bohua Food Co., Ltd., and as director and general manager of Guangxi Nan Tang Sugarcane Modern Agriculture Development Co., Ltd.
On August 15, 2026, Wang Junlin, secretary of the board and chief financial officer of Anhui Tongguan Copper Foil Group, passed away due to illness at the age of 56.
On August 15, 2026, Ma Jinxuan, a Communist Party member and chairman and general manager of Guangxi Maheng Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd., died suddenly in Nanning after rescue efforts proved unsuccessful. Ma Jinxuan had been deeply involved in the Hengzhou area of Guangxi for over twenty years, mainly engaged in fresh e-commerce, modern logistics, and supply chain management business.
Previously, in mid-June to mid-August 2026, nearly 20 middle-aged professors and company executives in mainland China died.
In the two months from June to early August 2026, at least 13 middle-aged Communist Party officials and police officers died, including at least 10 party members. Additionally, at least seven Communist officials aged over 60 and under 70 died.
Meanwhile, in recent months, there has been a significant surge in COVID-19 infections in mainland China.
According to official data released by the Communist Party, in July 2026, the country reported 522,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, which was 6.61 times higher than in June. In June 2026, there were 79,000 new confirmed cases, accounting for approximately 70% of the total from January to May and 2.4 times higher than the number reported in June 2025.
Due to China’s past concealment of the true extent of the epidemic, there are concerns that the actual situation of the current outbreak in mainland China may be far more severe than officially reported.