On December 27, 2024, it was reported that Zhang Kejian, the Vice Minister of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (referred to as the MIIT), and Director of the National Defense Science and Technology Industry Bureau (referred to as the NDSTIB), has been out of the public eye for a long time and there were rumors of an investigation. Yesterday, on December 26, authorities announced that he had been relieved of his position as the Party Secretary of the NDSTIB.
According to an announcement on the official website of the Chinese NDSTIB, on the afternoon of December 26, the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee announced that Shan Zhongde, the Vice Minister of the MIIT, has been appointed as the Party Secretary of the NDSTIB, replacing Zhang Kejian.
Zhang Kejian had been absent from a major leadership conference for provincial and ministerial-level officials at the end of October, along with Deputy Director (ministerial-level) Lei Fanpei from the Office of the Central Committee for Military-Civil Fusion Development. They also both missed the central economic work conference in December.
On October 28, Li Weiao, a mainland media personality, revealed on Weibo that “a certain Deputy Minister and Director of a certain bureau has been taken away for two weeks.” Some netizens who commented on the post seemed to have inside information, mentioning “Zhang Kejian,” “National Defense Industry System,” “Science and Technology Bureau,” and “Kunshan Zhang.”
Zhang Kejian, aged 63 and hailing from Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, previously served as the Party Secretary of the China Academy of Engineering Physics (a nuclear weapons research base). He has been in charge of the NDSTIB for six years and also holds positions as the Director of the National Space Administration and the head of the National Atomic Energy Agency.
Currently, on the leadership page of the NDSTIB, Shan Zhongde has taken over the position of the top leader from Zhang Kejian.
Shan Zhongde, aged 54, is a mechanical expert and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. He has previously served as the President and Party Secretary of Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It is expected that he will also assume the post of Director of the National Space Administration and head of the National Atomic Energy Agency.
The NDSTIB of the Communist Party of China is responsible for coordinating major matters in weapons research and production in the fields of nuclear, aerospace, aviation, shipping, weaponry, electronics, and other sectors crucial for military industry core capabilities. Past directors since 2008 include Chen Qiufa (March 2008 to January 2013), Ma Xingrui (March 2013 to December 2013), Xu Dazhe (December 2013 to August 2016), Tang Dengjie (May 2017 to January 2018), and Zhang Kejian (since May 2018).
Since the corruption case in the Rocket Force last year, a large number of senior military leaders and officials in the military-industrial complex under the Communist Party have fallen from grace, and the situation is ongoing, albeit often remaining undisclosed by official channels.
During the 13th meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in December this year, the seat next to Xu Anbiao, the current deputy director of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and the Law Committee, was empty, and Xu Dazhe, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, was absent.
Current affairs commentator Li Linyi told the Epoch Times that Xu Dazhe’s consecutive absences from meetings, along with the previous absences of Lei Fanpei and Zhang Kejian from important conferences, indicate that something significant may have happened. However, given the opaque nature of the Communist Party’s recent operations, information may not be easily made public, and replacements may simply be made without much elaboration. Such actions highlight the mysterious nature of the Communist Party’s political landscape and its sense of crisis.
Xiao Yaqing, the former Minister of the MIIT under the Communist Party, was also toppled in July 2022.