On May 7th, former member of the Anhui Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Vice Chairman Zhou Xian was sentenced in a bribery case. Zhou Xian was found guilty of accepting bribes totaling more than 134 million Chinese yuan, and was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve.
According to the charges, from 2012 to 2025, Zhou Xian took advantage of his positions as mayor of Bazhong City in Sichuan Province, secretary of the Ziyang Municipal Party Committee in Sichuan Province, and deputy governor of Anhui Province. He used his authority and the conveniences derived from his position to provide assistance in project contracts, fund disbursements, land approval, and other matters to relevant units and individuals, in exchange for illegal gains totaling over 134 million Chinese yuan.
The court stated that the amount of bribes Zhou Xian received was particularly huge. After being apprehended, he truthfully confessed his crimes and voluntarily disclosed a significant portion of bribery offenses that supervisory agencies had not yet uncovered. Due to this, he was sentenced to death with a reprieve and the execution was not immediate.
The Zhangzhou Intermediate People’s Court held a trial for this case on February 5, 2026.
On February 6, 2025, Zhou Xian, Vice Chairman of the Anhui CPPCC, was investigated while holding office, becoming the first high-ranking official to fall in the Year of the Tiger.
On January 22 of that year, Zhou Xian attended the closing ceremony of the Third Session of the Thirteenth Anhui Provincial CPPCC.
On the morning of January 24, the closing ceremony of the Third Session of the Fourteenth Anhui Provincial People’s Congress was held, with Zhou Xian and others seated at the main platform.
Zhou Xian, born in August 1963 in Xinye, Henan, was transferred to the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission in 1992. After the organizational reform in 2003, he served as the Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the National Development and Reform Commission. In 2006, he became the Head of the General Affairs Department of the Office of the National Energy Leading Group, and in 2008, he was appointed Director of the Comprehensive Department of the National Energy Administration.
In 2010, Zhou Xian was transferred to the position of Deputy Secretary of the Bazhong Municipal Party Committee and Acting Mayor of Bazhong City in Sichuan Province, later becoming the Mayor. In 2014, he was appointed Secretary of the Ziyang Municipal Party Committee.
In 2018, Zhou Xian was appointed as the Deputy Governor of Anhui Province. In January 2023, shortly before turning 60, Zhou Xian was reassigned to the position of Vice Chairman of the Anhui CPPCC, a post he held until the investigation unfolded.