Shanghai Communist Party Committee Member and Secretary of Pudong New Area Committee, Zhu Zhisong, who comes from a military-industrial background, was investigated and ousted today (27th) due to alleged serious violations of discipline and law. Zhu Zhisong previously held leadership roles in the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau and had a close relationship with Jiang Mianheng, the eldest son of Jiang Zemin, who had involvement in the aerospace industry.
It was officially announced by the Chinese Communist Party on November 27th that Zhu Zhisong, a member of the Shanghai Communist Party Committee and Secretary of the Pudong New Area Committee, is under investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission for “suspected serious violations of discipline and law”.
Public records show that Zhu Zhisong, 55, is from Jiangsu Province and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Manufacturing from Harbin Institute of Technology. He had a long career in military-related work in the Shanghai aerospace system, serving as Deputy Director of the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau from June 2000 to 2014, and later advancing to positions such as Deputy Director, Director, and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau. In May 2014, he became the Deputy Minister of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee’s Propaganda Department, then served as the Minhang District Chief and Secretary, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal Government in 2019, as well as the Executive Deputy Director of the Management Committee of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lingang New Area and Director of the Yangshan Bonded Port Area Management Committee.
In 2021, he was appointed as a member of the Shanghai Communist Party Committee, Secretary of the Pudong New Area Committee, and Director of the Management Committee of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.
It is worth noting that the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau, also known as the Shanghai Aerospace Technology Research Institute and the Eighth Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, is headquartered in the Minhang District of Shanghai. Jiang Mianheng, the son of Jiang Zemin, served as Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences from 1999 to 2011 and had a stake in China’s aerospace industry, with his significant influence centered around the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau in the Minhang District.
Starting in 2007, during Zhu Zhisong’s tenure at the Shanghai Aerospace Bureau, the Aerospace City was established in the Minhang District. Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong had previously reported that one of Jiang Zemin’s residences is located within this Aerospace City, boasting luxury and an area exceeding that of Mao Zedong’s former residence in Shanghai, the Shanghai West Suburb Guesthouse.
In the ongoing series of corruption cases in the military involving the Rocket Force since last year, dozens of officers have been implicated, including two former Ministers of National Defense, Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu. Senior executives in the military industry have also fallen from power, including Wu Yansheng, the former Chairman of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Liu Shiquan, the former Chairman of China Ordnance Industry Group, and Wang Changqing, the former Deputy General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.
The downfall of Wu Yansheng and his previous position at the helm of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has become a sensitive issue. Wu Yansheng has had longstanding connections with his predecessor, Lei Fanpei, the former Chairman of the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. Recent reports suggest that Lei Fanpei, currently serving as the Executive Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Committee for Military-Civil Fusion Development, and Zhang Kejian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and Director of the State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense, were both absent from the provincial and ministerial high-level official meeting on October 29, raising suspicions of their potential entanglement in the ongoing investigations.
On August 22 this year, Dai Shoulong, the Secretary of Mudanjiang City, Heilongjiang Province, with a background in the military industry, was similarly ousted. Commentator Wang Gong mentioned in a recent YouTube program that the investigation into military corruption has reached down to the local government level.
Dai Shoulong, 52, hailing from Qingdao, Shandong Province, began working at the China Academy of Space Technology in July 1994 and spent 25 years in the Chinese Communist Party’s aerospace system. In April 2009, he became the Deputy Director of the Fifth Academy of Aerospace Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In September 2011, Dai was appointed as the Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Eighth Academy of Aerospace Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Aerospace Industry Group. He later became the Director of the Eighth Aerospace Institute and Chairman of the Shanghai Aerospace Industry Group in July 2014. In 2019, Dai was transferred to Harbin as the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and then became the Secretary of the Mudanjiang City Party Committee in March 2023 until his investigation.
According to reports in mainland Chinese media, Dai Shoulong’s downfall may be related to the investigation into corruption within the Chinese Communist Party’s aerospace system. When reporting on Dai Shoulong’s case, Caixin website specifically mentioned that on December 27, 2023, Wu Yansheng, Chairman of the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, was removed from his position as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Wu Yansheng had worked closely with Dai Shoulong at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation for many years.