Recently, the state-owned enterprise Ansteel Group of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has expelled 104 appraisal experts on the grounds of “long-term dereliction of duty or improper performance.” Respondents believe that the title of state-owned enterprise expert is no longer just a professional identity but a covert channel for project evaluation, resource allocation, and interest manipulation. Netizens question whether the expert pool, appraisal pool, and consulting pool within CPC state-owned enterprises are becoming black holes devouring public resources.
Ansteel’s Smart Bidding Platform issued a public notice on June 4 entitled “Announcement on the Removal of 104 Appraisal Experts.” According to the announcement disseminated by Ansteel Tendering Co., Ltd. on May 13, the notice emphasized the need to strictly manage appraisal experts, warning them to fulfill their duties in accordance with regulations and rules, strengthen the construction of the expert team, and remove 104 experts who have been long-term inactive or improperly performed from Ansteel Group’s expert pool.
Chinese corporate researcher Li Jue (pseudonym) interviewed by Epoch Times stated that CPC central and state-owned enterprises have always been unsupervised systems, relying on power, monopolizing the market, with no accountability for illegal activities. He said, “It’s more like a black hole. Now, state-owned enterprises enjoy privileges but still struggle to make money. After laying off ordinary employees, they are now targeting their own people.”
Public information reveals that these 104 individuals are experts stored in Ansteel Group’s appraisal expert pool, not full-time research and development personnel or technical management staff at lower-level positions within state-owned enterprises. The layoffs this time are not part of a large-scale workforce reduction in offline positions of state-owned enterprises. Appraisal experts typically participate in project evaluation processes for procurement, engineering, equipment, technology, or management projects. The “long-term dereliction of duty or improper performance” mentioned in Ansteel’s announcement mainly involves issues related to the performance of the expert pool.
Li Jue mentioned that among Ansteel’s appraisal experts, there may be a considerable number who entered the expert pool through connections with friends and relatives, and it is unclear if these individuals meet the corresponding expert qualifications. He stated, “This reveals a typical identity mechanism within state-owned enterprises. These expert pools and appraisal pools, on the surface, are professional resources but in practice, easily become a closed resource circle. Once people enter, they hold their qualifications for a long time, participate in project evaluations when needed, and face no consequences in case of responsibilities.”
A former senior executive of Ansteel, Mr. Zhang (pseudonym), revealed to Epoch Times that Ansteel Group has an expert pool for appraisals, where personnel participate in project evaluations for procurement and engineering projects of state-owned enterprises. Once experts are included in the pool, they may be involved in equipment procurement, engineering construction, technical services, supplier selection, and other project evaluations.
He explained, “It’s a cushy position. They don’t necessarily work every day, but as long as they are in the pool, they can receive evaluation fees, labor fees for their services, and even interact with suppliers and project resources. Upper management knows that many people are absent for long periods and do not participate in project evaluations, but due to their background and interests, they tolerate it. Ansteel’s decision to remove 104 individuals shows they can no longer support them.”
On mainland short-video platforms, some accounts are framing the public announcement as “we don’t need freeloaders at work” and “having an expert title is not a free pass to do nothing.” Videos are accompanied by factory scenes, leading viewers to easily link this event to a cleanup of lower-level positions within state-owned enterprises. In the related video comment sections, many netizens point out issues such as “too many management positions in state-owned enterprises,” “experts getting a free ride,” and “those who actually work are poorly treated.”
An article reprinted by Sina Finance website mentioned that after expelling the 104 appraisal experts, Ansteel has initiated a new round of external expert recruitment, with external experts coming from universities, research institutions, and renowned enterprises. The article believes that this entrance and exit signify the breaking of the traditional practice of only admitting experts without any exits, indicating that the expert title is no longer a lifelong designation and should not be a comfort zone.
Ansteel Group, headquartered in Anshan, Liaoning Province, is a central enterprise supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council and one of the representative enterprises in China’s heavy industrial state-owned enterprise system. As a central enterprise, Ansteel’s procurement, bidding, and expert appraisal processes involve a large number of project resources.
North American scholar Cheng Guobang (pseudonym) stated that the issues with CPC central and state-owned enterprises are not just about low efficiency but about power, resources, status, and benefits tied to CPC interests. He remarked, “The CPC is a group of people who deceive and exploit, holding all the resources. Removing so-called appraisal experts doesn’t mean this mechanism will be cleaned up, it just shows that it has reached a point where it needs self-protection. It won’t be long before these individuals move to other state-owned enterprises to profit.”
As of now, Ansteel’s official announcement only explains the reasons for the removal and the list of 104 experts, without further disclosures regarding the specific performance issues, project involvement, whether they received evaluation fees, or if there will be accountability.