In recent days, Yang Wei, the former Deputy General Manager of the China Aviation Industry Corporation and the chief designer of the Chinese J-20 stealth fighter, was removed from the list of academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Amid a recent three-year purge within the Chinese Communist Party’s military-industrial complex, top executives of ten state-owned military enterprises have fallen from grace, with at least ten academicians from the two academies facing repercussions, sparking widespread attention.
The official website of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) recently updated its “List of All Academicians,” revealing the removal of the name and profile of Yang Wei, the former Deputy General Manager of the China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC) and the chief designer of the J-20 fighter jet.
Academicians of the two academies (CAS and the Chinese Academy of Engineering) are considered the highest academic titles within the Chinese Communist Party, representing a lifetime honor. Typically, such titles are revoked only in cases of serious academic misconduct or legal violations.
Since the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, at least ten academicians with military-industrial backgrounds from the two academies have been removed, primarily from the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The list includes figures like Luo Qi, former Chief Engineer of the China National Nuclear Corporation; Xiao Longxu, former Chief Engineer of the Rocket Force Research Institute; Zhou Guotai, former Deputy Minister of the PLA General Logistics Department’s Oil Supplies Department (known as the “father of Chinese ballistic armor”); Jin Donghan, former President of Tianjin University and an expert in power machinery; Cao Jianguo, former Chairman of the China Aviation Engine Group; Wu Manqing, former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a radar expert; Zhao Xiageng, former Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a specialist in nuclear weapons engineering; and Wei Yiyin, former Deputy General Manager of the Aerospace Science and Technology Group and an expert in missile guidance and control.
Among those removed from the Chinese Academy of Sciences are Yang Wei, the former Deputy General Manager of the China Aviation Industry Corporation (known as the “father of the J-20”), and Liu Cangli, the former Director of the China Academy of Engineering Physics.
Yang Wei, an aircraft design expert, was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017. He has long been involved in the design and development of fighter jets, having participated in the research and development of the Chinese third-generation fighter J-10 and serving as the chief designer of the Chinese fifth-generation stealth fighter J-20, earning him the title of the “father of the J-20.” On January 18, 2025, the profiles of both Yang Wei and the General Manager of the group, Hao Zhaoping, were simultaneously removed from the “Leadership Team” section of AVIC’s website.
Shen Mingshi, a researcher at the Taiwan Institute of National Defense and Security Studies, told Dajiyuan that Yang Wei was dismissed from his position a year ago, and it is only now that he has been stripped of his title as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, indicating that after an investigation, authorities found grounds for his removal of previous honors.
Shen Mingshi believes that one possible reason for Yang Wei’s downfall is that the fifth-generation fighter he was involved in developing was later proven to be overstated, leading to an investigation into whether there was any budget inflation or mismanagement in the research project.
Yang Wei’s former boss and a fellow alumnus of the Northwestern Polytechnical University, Zhou Xinmin, the former Chairman of AVIC, was removed from his position as a National People’s Congress deputy in February of this year, signaling his fall from grace. Additionally, Tan Ruisong, the former Chairman of AVIC before Zhou, was disgraced on August 30, 2024, on charges of corruption, bribery, insider trading, and leaking insider information.
Shen Mingshi speculates that Yang Wei and Tan Ruisong worked together for over a decade and may have been involved in corrupt activities. Shen noted that significant decisions regarding weapon system design, development, and production should be the responsibility of the General Manager or Chief Engineer, but the final approval rests with the Chairman.
The aforementioned ten academicians who were removed mostly held high positions in state-owned military enterprises.
The ten core military-industrial state-owned enterprises in the Chinese Communist Party system include: the China National Nuclear Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, China Aviation Industry Corporation, China Aviation Engine Group, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, China Ordnance Industry Group, China Ordnance Equipment Group, China Electronics Technology Group, and China Electronics Information Industry Group. These ten military-industrial state-owned enterprises cover a wide range of fields such as nuclear, aerospace, aviation, shipbuilding, weaponry, and electronics.
Over the past three years of internal turmoil within the Chinese Communist Party, the top executives of these ten military-industrial state-owned enterprises have collectively fallen from grace, with many high-ranking officials being dismissed.
Even some high officials who had previously left the military-industrial system and later held positions within the party and government systems have been implicated, such as the disgraced former Party Secretary of Mudanjiang City in Heilongjiang Province, Dai Shuilon, former Shanghai Municipal Party Committee member Zhu Zhisong, and the long-missing and rumored to be in trouble former Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ma Xingrui, all with backgrounds in the Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has extended its cleaning operations to the military-industrial system, with many speculating that the deteriorating state of equipment sold by China to Venezuela and Iran crumbling under US military attacks played a role.
Shen Mingshi explained that events such as the recent US military operation to apprehend Maduro in Venezuela, Iran’s confrontation with Israeli attacks last year, and the joint US and Israeli attacks this time have demonstrated the ineffectiveness of Chinese air defense equipment. Authorities may consider investigating the responsibilities of the military-industrial sector, potentially leading to an expansion of China’s military-industrial cleanup.
Shen Mingshi believes that Xi Jinping is eager to develop military capabilities as a counterbalance to the United States or for potential use of force against Taiwan but has discovered slow progress in the development of critical weapons systems and an increasing number of issues emerging as scrutiny deepens.