After being arrested for three months, Vice President He Wenzhong of China Electronics Technology Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as “China Electronic Science and Technology Group”) has been officially charged.
According to the latest information from the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the Chinese Communist Party on January 20th, the investigation into the bribery case involving He Wenzhong, former member of the party committee and vice president of China Electronics Technology Group, has concluded. Upon designation by the procuratorate, the case has been transferred to the Zhangjiakou City Procuratorate in Hebei Province for further review and prosecution. Recently, the prosecution has formally filed charges with the Zhangjiakou City Intermediate People’s Court.
The prosecution’s indictment alleges that He Wenzhong, in his capacities as assistant director, deputy director, and director of the 11th Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group, as well as Chief Engineer and Director of the Strategic Planning Department of China Electronics Technology Group, abused his position to seek benefits for others, accepted bribes, and personally gained kickbacks in economic transactions, with an especially substantial amount, leading to the charge of accepting bribes and holding him criminally responsible.
Publicly available information indicates that He Wenzhong was born in August 1970. He has held various positions, including Executive Director and General Manager of CTEC Optoelectronics Co., Ltd., Chief Engineer of China Electronics Technology Group, Executive Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Committee, Director of Asset Management Department (concurrently), and Chairman of the board of directors of China United Microelectronics Center Co., Ltd.
On May 11, 2023, He Wenzhong was appointed Vice President of China Electronics Technology Group; on April 7, 2024, He Wenzhong was officially investigated, less than a year after taking office.
According to a report by the Financial Times of the United Kingdom on April 9, the investigation into He Wenzhong, as a senior executive of one of the largest military equipment suppliers of the Chinese Communist Party, represents a new sign of turmoil within the defense sector of the Chinese Communist Party.
In July of the same year, He Wenzhong’s delegate status was terminated by the 16th Beijing Municipal People’s Congress; in October, he was expelled from the Party and transferred to judicial organs, subsequently leading to his arrest.
According to the official introduction, China Electronics Technology Group was founded in 2002 on the basis of 46 electronic research institutes and 26 enterprises directly under the former Ministry of Information Industry of the Chinese Communist Party. It currently has 17 listed companies and employs 200,000 people. China Electronic Science and Technology Group is a “centrally managed important state-owned backbone enterprise” and a “main force in military electronics, the national team of cyberspace business, and a national strategic technology force” according to the CPC.
The group’s military electronic products, besides radar, also include drones, navigation, and electronic warfare systems. It has dozens of subsidiaries, including Hikvision, which produces monitoring equipment.
Due to assistance in the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights violations and other issues, China Electronics Technology Group has faced multiple sanctions imposed by the U.S government since 2018.