Recently, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China released the salary information of the leaders of central enterprises for the year 2024, including 14 power companies. This news quickly became a hot topic, with many netizens expressing doubts about the credibility of the disclosed salary information. Some netizens also questioned why the salary information for 2024 was only being made public in 2026.
The 14 power companies mentioned include State Grid Corporation of China, China Southern Power Grid Co., Ltd., China Energy Engineering Group Co., Ltd., China Energy Construction Group Co., Ltd., China Datang Corporation, China Huaneng Group Co., Ltd., China Huadian Corporation, State Power Investment Corporation, State Energy Investment Group Co., Ltd., China Electric Equipment Group Co., Ltd., China Orient Electric Group Co., Ltd., Harbin Electric Corporation, China General Nuclear Power Group, and China Three Gorges Corporation.
According to a report by First Financial, among the 14 central power enterprises, nearly half (6 companies) had their chairman or general manager take office halfway through 2024, with their annual salaries (which may not reflect the full year) averaging around 900,000 yuan. The remaining 8 central power enterprises had their chairman or general manager’s annual salaries ranging from 790,000 to 970,000 yuan overall.
For instance, the chairman of China Huaneng Group, Wen Shugang, topped the list of annual salaries in the power industry among central enterprises with an annual salary of 961,700 yuan. Followed by the chairman of China Huadian Corporation, Jiang Yi, and the chairman of China Southern Power Grid, Meng Zhenping, with annual salaries of 961,100 yuan and 958,300 yuan respectively.
When considering other income such as social security and pensions, the top three earners in terms of total income among the 14 central power enterprises mentioned were Jiang Yi, Chairman of China Huadian Group, Yu Bing, General Manager of State Energy Investment Group, and Wen Shugang, Chairman of China Huaneng Group, with total earnings of 1.2715 million yuan, 1.2457 million yuan, and 1.2317 million yuan respectively.
Both chairmen of China Huadian Group and China Huaneng Group ranked among the top three in terms of salary, regardless of annual salary or total income dimensions.
Moreover, the total annual salaries of most power company top executives saw a general rise, ranging from 0.5% to 5% year-on-year. Notably, the total salary increases of the chairman of China Datang Group, China Huadian Group, and China Huaneng Group were at the forefront, with increases of 4.60%, 4.01%, and 3.28% respectively compared to 2023. Chairman Zou Lei of China Datang Group saw the largest increase in salary.
This news has sparked widespread attention online, with many netizens believing that the disclosed salary information of central enterprise leaders is unreliable.
Some comments from netizens include:
– “Baidu netizen e3e84beae”: I believe they are earning nearly a million in salary, but I doubt this is their total income.
– “LightWaitHateCloud0Hb”: This is their salary, other income is more than ten times this amount.
– “a11121great”: Salary is just pocket money, other income is the real deal.
– “Lion Roaring in Front of the Door”: The main purpose of salary is for public announcement and giving pocket money to their children.
– “254374729cxb”: Putting out this data is like self-sabotage, how many people would believe it?
– “BrokenHorse”: Does the extra money at home count as income from unknown sources?
– “ty351000”: Leaders of private enterprises are earning 2 million, and they still switch jobs! People like Dong Mingzhu have a more realistic annual salary. Ma Mingzhe’s annual salary was revealed to be 66 million in 2008.
– “WallSoilG”: The data released is the average annual salary of the industry.
– “EnthusiasticNetizenMrZhangAo”: Why did it take until 2026 to announce the income of 2024? Why the delay?