In the past year, there have been several personnel changes at the top levels of the Ministry of Water Resources of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Over the past month and a half, more than ten water resource officials have been reported to have been removed from their positions.
On May 19, 2026, the official website of the Personnel Department of the Ministry of Water Resources of China issued a notice of job appointments and removals. Wu Wenqing was appointed as the Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Water Resources, relieving him of his previous position as the Chief Planner of the Ministry of Water Resources; Yu Qiyang was appointed as the Chief Planner of the Ministry of Water Resources, relieving him of his position as the Director of the Water Resources Management Department of the Ministry of Water Resources; and Zhong Zhiyu was removed from his position as the Chief Engineer of the Ministry of Water Resources.
Wu Wenqing, born in 1972, previously held positions including Deputy Director of the Office of the Ministry of Water Resources, Director of the Financial Department of the Ministry of Water Resources, Director and Party Secretary of the Taihu River Basin Management Bureau of the Ministry of Water Resources, and Chief Planner of the Ministry of Water Resources. Yu Qiyang, born in March 1968, previously served as the Director of the Water Resources Management Center of the Ministry of Water Resources and the Director of the Policy and Legislation Department of the Ministry of Water Resources. Zhong Zhiyu, who was relieved of his duties, was born in December 1965 and has reached the age of 60.
Over the past year, there have been multiple adjustments to the top personnel of the CCP’s Ministry of Water Resources.
On March 2, 2026, Cheng Dianlong relinquished his position as the Chief Economist of the Ministry of Water Resources. Cheng Dianlong was born in 1965. Currently, the position of Chief Economist of the Ministry of Water Resources remains vacant.
On February 25, 2026, Sun Zhiyu, a director, general manager, and Deputy Party Secretary of the South-to-North Water Diversion Group Co., Ltd., was promoted to Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources. Sun Zhiyu was born in May 1968.
In December 2025, Chen Min, Deputy Minister of the Emergency Management Department, concurrently appointed as Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources; and Zu Leiming, Director of the Yellow River Water Resources Commission, was reassigned to Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources.
In November 2025, Wang Daoxi, Deputy Minister of the Emergency Management Department and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources, was transferred to become a Standing Committee Member of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the CCP and an Executive Vice Governor.
In August 2025, Zhu Chengqing, Deputy Minister of the CCP’s Ministry of Water Resources, stepped down from his position. Zhu Chengqing was born in April 1965.
In June 2025, Liu Dongshun, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Yangtze River Water Conservancy Commission, was promoted to Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources.
During the recent adjustment of the top personnel of the CCP’s Ministry of Water Resources, over ten officials at various levels of the water resource system have consecutively been reported to have been removed from their positions in the past month and a half.
On May 11, 2026, Zhu Haisheng, a former first-level inspector of the Jiangsu Province Water Resources Department, was investigated. Zhu Haisheng, born in September 1962 in Wujiang, Jiangsu, previously served as Deputy Director and Director of the Office of the Jiangsu Province Water Resources Department, Director and Party Secretary of the Jiangsu Province Water Conservancy Engineering Construction Bureau, and Deputy Director and Party Committee Member of the Jiangsu Province Water Resources Department.
On May 7, 2026, Zhu Zehua, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Sichuan Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Development Center, was removed from his position. Zhu Zehua, born in January 1966 in Meishan, Sichuan, previously served as Secretary of the Party Committee of the Dongfeng Canal Management Office of Dujiangyan, and Deputy Secretary and Director of the Outer River Management Office of Dujiangyan; in September 2021, he was appointed as Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Development Center (at the deputy department level).
Additionally, Lv Xiaowen, Former Party Secretary and Director of the Water Affairs Bureau of Liangdang County, Longnan City, Gansu Province (May 21, 2026), Cai Zhi, a second-level principal officer of the Water Affairs Bureau of Haikou City, Hainan Province (May 15), Lu Liangchu, Former Director of the Agriculture and Rural Water Resources Bureau of Huai Shang District, Bengbu City, Anhui Province (May 14), Tian Changyuan, Former Party Secretary and Director of the Water Affairs Bureau of Fenggang County, Guizhou Province (May 13), Yang Hanqing, Former Party Secretary and Director of the Water Affairs Bureau of Litong District, Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (May 11), He Xiaokun, Former Director of the Water Affairs Bureau of Zhang County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province (May 9), Liu Jian, Party Secretary and Director of the Water Resources Bureau of Nanzhao County, Nanyang City, Henan Province (April 24), Yang Xiaohui, Party Committee Member and Deputy Director of the Water Resources Bureau of Hubin District, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province (April 16), Wang Guolu, Party Secretary and Director of the Water Affairs Bureau of Honggu District, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province (April 10) were also investigated.
Previously, within eight days from March 20 to 27, 2026, four high-ranking officials from the CCP’s water resource system were removed from their positions in quick succession. This includes Chen Wenfu, a first-level consultant of the Three Gorges Construction Group, Xu Yanbin, Director of the Poyang Lake Water Conservancy Hub Office in Jiangxi Province, Wang Rongxi, Former Director of the Anhui Water Resources Department, and Jiang Ruhua, Former Deputy Director of the Zhejiang Water Resources Department.
As early as January 5, 2026, Tian Xuebin, former Party Committee Member and Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Water Resources of the CCP, was investigated. On February 6, his Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) membership was revoked.
Corruption cases within the CCP’s water resource system have been surfacing frequently. In January 2025, a special anti-corruption program broadcasted on Guizhou TV mentioned the downfall of three provincial-level officials in the water resource system of Guizhou Province, stating that the policy support in the water resources field is strong, funds are concentrated, and corruption issues are prone to occur due to the large amount of funding in water resource system projects; many officials spare no effort in seeking promotions and valuable positions within the water resource system in order to enrich themselves.