The recent wave of cleansing within the Chinese Communist Party’s healthcare system has now extended its reach into the manufacturing sector. On August 30, Li Chuyuan, Chairman of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., was investigated, followed by the detention of Zhang Chunbo, Vice President of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, on September 1. Since last year, over 30 pharmaceutical company executives have come under scrutiny.
On September 1, a public announcement was made by the listed company under the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, Baiyunshan, stating that Zhang Chunbo, the company’s director and Vice President of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, had submitted his resignation. According to reports from various independent sources cited by “First Financial,” Zhang Chunbo has been taken away for investigation by relevant authorities.
Aged 48, Zhang Chunbo was known as a member of the “young faction” of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group’s leadership team. Before his detention in January 2015 until September 2024, Zhang Chunbo served as a director and Vice President of Baiyunshan. He has also held positions as Vice President of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Chairman of Guangzhou Baiyunshan Zhongyi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Qixing Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and served as Party Secretary.
On August 30, Li Chuyuan, Party Secretary and Chairman of the Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., was placed under investigation. Li Chuyuan, 59, a native of Shantou, Guangdong, has worked for Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group for 36 years since joining in 1988. Starting as a technician, he has held various positions including department head, assistant to the general manager, Vice President, and General Manager. In 2013, he officially became the head of Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group, serving as Party Secretary, Chairman, and Chairman of Baiyunshan for 11 years.
The Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Group) is a state-owned enterprise in Guangzhou. It is engaged in the research and development, production, sales of pharmaceutical products, wellness products, medical devices, biopharmaceuticals, and providing medical health and wellness services. The company owns the controlling stake in the listed company Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. (Shanghai A-share: 600332, Hong Kong H-share: 00874), and is a shareholder of Kangmei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Shanghai A-share: 600518). It has over 30 subsidiary companies, including Wanglaoji with a history of over 190 years, Chen Li Ji with a history of over 420 years, as well as Jingxiutang, Pangaoshou, and Caizhilin among 12 Chinese time-honored enterprises.
On August 28, Shen Xinghu, Chairman of Haizheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., resigned abruptly after less than a year in office. On the same day, Zhang Li, Party Secretary and Chairman of Tongyong Technology Henan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., was investigated for reasons yet to be disclosed. Also on that day, Wang Ming, former Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Linzhou Health Commission in Henan Province, was under investigation.
Prior to this, several high-ranking officials of Haizheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. had also resigned. On April 5 last year, Li Yan resigned as CEO of Haizheng Pharmaceutical Co., only to be investigated less than a year later. Jiang Guoping, the former Chairman of the company who resigned in August last year, and Vice Chairman Chen Xiaohua also resigned simultaneously. On November 29 of the same year, Zhang Zhenying, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, also resigned. The three of them left their positions in the same year, reportedly due to their involvement in the alleged inflated assets of Hanhui.
On August 27, Jiang Tao, former Executive Vice President of Guotou Group’s Guotou Biotechnology Investment Co., Ltd., was investigated. On the same day, Dong Zenghe, Chairman of China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), and CEO Lian Wanyong resigned.
After the resignation of former Chairman Zhou Bin in June last year, Dong Zenghe was selected as the eighth board member and Chairman of the company, while Lian Wanyong had served as CEO since September 2022. Former Chairman Zhou Bin was under investigation in January of this year.
On August 23, Huang Kedi, Deputy Party Secretary and Director of Nanchang People’s Hospital, voluntarily confessed to his faults and is currently under investigation. Born in January 1967 in Nanchang County, Jiangxi Province, Huang Kedi has worked in Nanchang’s First Hospital, Hongdu Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, and Nanchang Hospital (Nanchang Third Hospital).
On August 8, Rao Zhiqiang, former Director of Chibi Hospital, was investigated.
On August 19, Wei Xingang, Party Committee Secretary of Heilongjiang Health Commission, was placed under investigation. Public records show that Wei Xingang, born in October 1966, assumed the position of Party Committee Secretary and Director of Heilongjiang Health Commission in October 2018.
On August 13, Zhang Yongyu, former Party Committee Secretary and Executive Vice Chairman of Fujian Family Planning Association, was indicted on charges of corruption. Zhang Yongyu had also served as a member of the Party Committee and Deputy Director of the Fujian Health Commission.
On June 11, Yang Hui, Party Committee Secretary of the Guizhou Health Commission, was investigated.
On April 26, Duan Yufei, former Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Guangdong Health Commission, was placed under investigation. Following Duan Yufei’s departure from the Guangdong Health Commission in September 2021, Zhu Hong, former Party Committee Secretary of Southern Medical University’s Southern Hospital, succeeded him and took charge of the Guangdong Health Commission. In November 2023, Zhu Hong voluntarily turned himself in during his tenure.
On March 28, Qin Zhenghua, Party Committee Secretary and Director of the Wuhu Health Commission in Anhui Province, was under investigation.
According to Da Ji Yuan’s investigation, several executives from state-owned enterprises have been investigated as well, including Liu Jianshun, former Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of Pien Tsz Huang, who fell from power on August 22 last year; Zhou Jun, former Chairman of Shanghai Pharmaceutical, who was investigated on November 20 last year, and Yang Xiaoming, former Chief Engineer of National Pharmaceutical Group and former Chairman of China Biology, who was relieved of his duties as a representative of the People’s Congress on April 26 this year.