According to the report released on December 4th by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party, Tao Xinghu, former Vice President of China Nonferrous Mining Group, is under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.
Public information indicates that Tao Xinghu, 67 years old, is a senior engineer of professorial rank and a special allowance expert of the State Council of the Communist Party of China. He has served as the mine manager and general manager of Zhongtiaoshan Nonferrous Metals, as well as the general manager of China Nonferrous Construction Company in Africa.
In January 2008, Tao Xinghu was appointed as the Vice President of China Nonferrous Mining Group, and concurrently served as the general manager of the China-Zambia Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone Development Company.
China Nonferrous Group was established in 1983 and is a large central state-owned enterprise under the supervision of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of the Communist Party of China. Its main businesses include the development of nonferrous metal mineral resources, construction engineering, related trade, and services. It is a pioneer in the CCP’s nonferrous metal industry’s “going global” strategy. Currently, the group’s total assets amount to 110.8 billion yuan, with 115 invested enterprises at home and abroad.
Given his age, Tao Xinghu is already retired. Regarding why he is being investigated after retirement, an article on NetEase’s account titled “Tao Xinghu Investigated for Serious Violations of Discipline and Law, a Sad End to the Life of a State-Owned Enterprise President” claims that one significant benefit is the “obvious educational significance.” At his age, it is almost impossible for him to make a comeback, hence it is an opportunity to “constantly remind” those “officials without original intentions,” to “give them a way out and make them confess.”
Time will tell how this investigation unfolds and its implications for China Nonferrous Mining Group and the broader state-owned enterprise sector in the country.