Former director of the China National Space Administration and expert in carrier rockets and strategic missile control technology, Liu Jiyuan, passed away recently at the age of 93. In recent years, many high-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party with backgrounds in aerospace have been subjected to a purge, including former colleagues of Liu Jiyuan, such as the vice-ministerial level official, Ma Xingrui.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation announced on its official WeChat account today (August 19) that Liu Jiyuan passed away in Beijing on August 17, 2026, at the age of 93, due to an incurable illness.
According to public records, Liu Jiyuan, formerly known as Chen Jiyuan, was born in Xing County, Shanxi Province in August 1933. He was an expert in carrier rockets and strategic missile control technology, as well as in aerospace system engineering management.
Liu Jiyuan began his career working at the Second Division of the Fifth Institute of the Ministry of National Defense. In 1978, he served as the deputy director and director of the Seventh Bureau’s research office, as well as the deputy director and director of the research institute. In May 1983, he became the deputy director of the First Academy of the Ministry of Aerospace, followed by his appointment as deputy minister of the Ministry of Aerospace in April 1984 and deputy minister of the Ministry of Aeronautics and Astronautics in April 1988. On September 21, 1992, he became the deputy commander-in-chief of the manned space project “Project 921”. From April 1993 to January 1999, he served as the general manager of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (Director of the China National Space Administration) and secretary of the Party Committee. He was also a member of the 14th and 15th Central Committees of the Chinese Communist Party before retiring in 1999.
Later on, he worked as a researcher at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and a professor at the Chinese Society of Astronautics.
The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation and the China National Space Administration were jointly established in 1993 as one entity with two separate entities. In 1999, the corporation was split into two large state-owned enterprises (China Aerospace Science and Technology Group and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation), while the administrative functions of the China National Space Administration were separated and transferred to government departments.
In recent years, a significant number of high-ranking officials in the Chinese Communist Party’s military-industrial system with aerospace backgrounds have been purged, with many being former associates of Liu Jiyuan.
For instance, Ma Xingrui, a member of the Central Political Bureau who fell from grace on April 3 this year, had served as the deputy director of the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in May 1996. He later held positions in the China Aerospace Science and Technology Group, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and as the director of the State Administration of National Defense Science and Technology and Director of the National Space Administration.
Other aerospace officials who were former associates of Liu Jiyuan and have encountered problems include Xu Dazhe, Wu Yansheng, Lei Fanpei, and Yuan Jie.