Following the dismissal of Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu due to corruption, the Xi Jinping administration continues to clean up the military-industrial system of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Recently, there have been changes in leadership within the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC) discipline inspection and supervision team, with the investigation of the company’s deputy general manager He Wenzhong, signaling further purification within the CCP’s defense apparatus.
According to reports from CCP official media on April 3, the Organization Department of the CCP Central Committee has issued a notice appointing He Yong, the director of the Administration and Law Enforcement Coordination and Supervision Bureau of the CCP Ministry of Justice, as the head of the discipline inspection and supervision team and a member of the CCP group of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (referred to as “CETC”).
CETC is a centrally-owned state-owned enterprise formed by the merger of 46 electronic research institutes and 26 state-owned enterprises, with a workforce of 200,000 employees, making it one of the world’s largest defense groups.
CETC, as introduced on its official website, is the main force of the CCP’s military electronics, the national team in the field of network information, and a national strategic technological force. It holds a leading position in technology in areas such as electronic equipment, network information systems, industrial foundations, and network security.
CETC closely collaborates with the armed forces, producing various high-tech military equipment including early warning radar. In addition, CETC designs drone swarms, navigation, and electronic warfare systems. CETC has dozens of subsidiaries, including Hikvision.
He Yong, born in May 1970 in Bengbu, Anhui Province, holds a Master’s degree in Economic Law from the China University of Political Science and Law. He has held various positions within the CCP Ministry of Justice, including Deputy Director of the Legislative Affairs Bureau, member of the Standing Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee of Beibei District in Chongqing, Deputy Director of the Legal Service and Notarization Work Guidance Bureau of the CCP Ministry of Justice, Secretary General of the All-China Lawyers Association, Director of the Institutional Service Bureau of the CCP Ministry of Justice, and Director of the Administration and Law Enforcement Coordination and Supervision Bureau of the CCP Ministry of Justice.
As He Yong takes on his new role, the deputy general manager of CETC, He Wenzhong, is under investigation.
According to a notice on the CCP Disciplinary Inspection Commission website on April 7, He Wenzhong, a member of the CCP group and deputy general manager of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, is undergoing disciplinary review and supervision investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervision Commission.
Public records show that He Wenzhong, born in August 1970, previously served as Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Director of Guangdian Technology Co., Ltd., Chief Engineer of CETC, Executive Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Committee, Director of the Asset Management Department (concurrently), and Chairman of Joint Microelectronics.
In May 2023, He Wenzhong was appointed deputy general manager and member of the Party group of CETC, but less than a year into his tenure, he is now under investigation. His most recent public appearance was on March 22 at a meeting related to deepening cooperation between Beijing and CETC.
He Wenzhong also serves as the director of the 11th Research Institute of the group, focusing on solid-state laser and infrared detector technology for precision-guided weapons.
An article by the Financial Times on April 9 reported that executives from CETC, the CCP’s only domestically-owned military industrial group serving all branches of the military (including the space operations branch), are undergoing repeated investigations.
The report mentioned that the investigation into He Wenzhong, the deputy general manager of CETC, took place after the military’s restructuring last year. At that time, leaders such as Li Yuchao and Xu Zhongbo from the Rocket Force were “taken down,” followed by Li Shangfu, the former Deputy Commander of the PLA Strategic Support Force and Minister of Defense, who disappeared from public view and was dismissed on October 24 of the same year due to corruption issues.
Whether the investigation of He Wenzhong is related to the purging of the Rocket Force or Li Shangfu remains unknown. However, political commentator Li Yanming believes that after the rocket force scandal last year, senior officials in the military-industrial system have been tumbling one after another. The recent change in leadership of the military-industrial state-owned enterprise’s discipline inspection team, with many high-ranking officials from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and provincial-level discipline inspection parachuted in, indicates that the purification of the military-industrial system is still ongoing.
In recent years, CETC has faced multiple sanctions from the United States.
Since August 2018, CETC has been repeatedly included on the Entity List of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, including the 13th Research Institute, 38th Research Institute, 55th Research Institute, and related units.
On July 9, 2021, the Biden administration placed 14 entities, including the China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology, on an economic blacklist, citing their involvement in human rights abuses in Xinjiang and high-tech surveillance for the Chinese government.
On August 23, 2022, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that seven aerospace-related Chinese entities, including the 43rd Research Institute and 58th Research Institute of CETC, would be added to the Export Control List, restricting their cooperation with American companies.
On February 10, 2023, the U.S. Department of Commerce added six Chinese companies, including the 48th Research Institute of CETC, to the Entity List.
On April 3, Li Zhaozhi, former Minister of the Equipment Support Department of China Ordnance Industry Group, was investigated.
On March 31, Xu Tiansheng, the chief commercial officer of Dongfeng Motor Group, was subject to review and investigation. Over the past 50 years since its establishment, Dongfeng Motor Group has contributed over 400,000 military vehicles to national defense. Among the active military vehicles used by troops, Dongfeng vehicles account for one-third.
On February 4, Zhang Jianwu, former Secretary of the Party Committee of Changchun Research Institute of China Ordnance Industry Group, was investigated.
Of particular note is the detention and investigation of Zhang Ya, Chairman of Chengdu Sicroy Microelectronics Co., Ltd., and Chengdu Guoguang Opto (Optical) Electronics Co., Ltd., on March 13.
Among them, Sicroy is a publicly-listed military enterprise established at the end of 2014, providing services such as military electronic component testing and selection, destructive physical analysis, failure analysis, environmental reliability testing, and quality and reliability analysis.
Public records show that Zhang Ya, born in 1969 and a graduate student, has been serving as the executive director and general manager of Shenzhen Zhenghe Xing Electronics Co., Ltd. since October 2000. He has been Chairman of Chengdu Guoguang Opto (Optical) Electronics Co., Ltd. since 2018, and was also the executive director of Chengdu Sicroy Microelectronics Co., Ltd. from August 2017 to May 2020, and Chairman since June 2020.
Data from Tianyancha also shows that Zhang Ya currently holds positions as legal representative, senior executive, or shareholder in 33 companies, involving various fields including electronic components, communication engineering technology, real estate development, property management, and educational consulting.
In addition to He Yong being appointed as the head of the discipline inspection and supervision team of CETC, Li Yang, the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Executive Deputy Secretary of the Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervision Commission, was appointed as the head of the discipline inspection and supervision team and a member of the Party group of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation Limited on April 1.
Li Yanming pointed out that it is worth noting that Jiang Mianheng, the son of Jiang Zemin, has long served as the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, overseeing high-tech research and development and deeply involved in CCP aerospace technology and other military affairs. There is recent information suggesting that Jiang Mianheng has been implicated by a high-ranking military official. The troubles in the CCP Rocket Force have alarmed Xi Jinping, and his cleansing of the military and military-industrial system shows no signs of stopping.