The official announcement by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) yesterday (May 29) declared that Zhang Yuzhuo, Director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), has been appointed as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, replacing Li Xiaohong, who was relieved of his position as the Party Secretary of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The recent removals of academicians from two prestigious academies in China have sparked attention on the change in leadership at the Academy of Engineering.
According to information from the official website of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, on the afternoon of May 29, representatives from the Organization Department of the CCP Central Committee attended a leadership meeting of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, where Zhang Yuzhuo was announced as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Academy, replacing Li Xiaohong.
Before this appointment, Zhang Yuzhuo served as the Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the SASAC of the State Council.
Public records show that Zhang Yuzhuo, born in January 1962, is a member of the 19th Central Committee and the 20th Central Committee of the CCP. He is an expert in clean coal technology, primarily engaged in research on coal-to-oil chemical technology, and was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2011.
Zhang Yuzhuo has had a long career in the coal industry, serving as Deputy General Manager of Shenhua Group, and holding positions as a director and general manager of the company. In May 2014, he became the Chairman and Party Secretary of Shenhua Group, and Chairman of China Shenhua Energy Company Limited. In March 2017, Zhang Yuzhuo was appointed as a Standing Committee Member of the Tianjin Municipal Committee and Secretary of the Binhai New Area Committee, and starting from May the following year, he also served as the Director of the Management Committee of the China (Tianjin) Pilot Free Trade Zone. In January 2020, he was transferred to the position of Chairman and Party Secretary of China Petrochemical Corporation.
In July 2021, Zhang Yuzhuo was appointed as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Association for Science and Technology, and starting the following month, he also took on the role of Deputy Chairman in charge of daily work and the Chief Secretary of the Secretariat of the China Association for Science and Technology. In December 2022, Zhang Yuzhuo became the Secretary of the Party Committee of the SASAC of the State Council, and later assumed the position of Director.
Born in June 1959 in Hechuan, Chongqing, Li Xiaohong is an expert in mine safety technology. He previously served as the President of Chongqing University, President of Wuhan University, and Deputy Minister of Education. In June 2017, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and became the President the following June. He is a member of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP.
Despite Li Xiaohong being past retirement age, his dismissal at this time coincides with a widespread cleansing of academicians within the CCP, raising speculation.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, collectively referred to as the “Two Academies,” bestow a lifelong honor upon their academicians, who are not typically easily removed. However, since 2024, over 10 academicians with military backgrounds have been stripped of their titles.
Among the removed academicians from the Academy of Engineering are missile expert Xiao Longxu from the Rocket Force Research Institute, former Chairman of the Aero Engine Group Cao Jianguo, former President of Tianjin University Jin Donghan, Chief Engineer of China National Nuclear Corporation Luo Qi, General Manager of China Electronics Technology Group Wu Manqing, Deputy General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Wei Yiyin, Director of China Academy of Engineering Physics Zhao Xiageng, and the latest being former President of Central South University Zhang Yaoxue.
The removed academicians from the Academy of Sciences include former Director of the China Academy of Engineering Physics Liu Cangli, Deputy General Manager of China Aviation Industry Corporation Yang Wei, former Director of the Science and Technology Committee of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Liu Guozhi, and the most recent being GIS and Remote Sensing Application expert Zhou Chenghu.
The frequent removal of academicians is an unusual phenomenon since the establishment of the academicians system in the CCP. According to various analyses, the reasons for their removals may include involvement in corruption related to their positions, potential connections to the recent investigations of military industrial giants, research misconduct, and issues related to the trading of academic titles.