Recently, the Chinese state-owned giant China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) has been exposed with four senior executives under investigation in a single day. The anti-corruption campaign in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is intensifying, with corrupt officials emerging one after another. Experts believe that the most dangerous group in China currently is the retired high-ranking CCP officials, who could be targeted at any time by the authorities under the guise of corruption investigations and asset confiscation.
According to the information released on July 9 by the CCP’s Central Discipline Inspection Commission, four senior executives from CNOOC were investigated on the same day. The individuals include Deng Jianming, former Deputy General Manager of the Engineering and Technology Department of China National Offshore Oil Corporation Limited; Zi Shilong, former Deputy General Manager of the Legal and External Affairs Department of CNOOC; Cao Shujie, former External Director of the Group Office and former Director of China United Coalbed Methane Corporation Limited; and Yu Guimin, former Party Committee Member and Deputy General Manager as well as Chief Engineer of the Tianjin Branch of CNOOC (China) Limited.
Reportedly, Zi Shilong, Cao Shujie, and Yu Guimin all have career backgrounds concentrated in the oilfield service provider China National Offshore Oilfield Service Corporation (CNOOC Service).
Zi Shilong, born in 1971, had a long career at CNOOC Service. Starting in January 2002, he held positions such as Manager of the Cementing Business Department and subsequently Deputy General Manager of the Oilfield Production Department at CNOOC Service. In August 2013, Zi Shilong became Vice President of CNOOC Service and resigned in December 2015 due to a job transfer.
Cao Shujie, born in 1964, served as Vice President of CNOOC Service from March 2010 to December 2016, and then as Executive Vice President from January 2017 to March 2018. From March 2018, he was promoted to CEO and President of CNOOC Service until his resignation in June 2020.
Yu Guimin, born in 1969, was appointed General Manager of the Oilfield Production Department in July 2012. He then became Vice President of CNOOC Service in January 2017 and resigned in May 2020. His career path became unclear afterwards, but by mid-2022, he had transferred to Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Tianjin Branch of CNOOC. As of April 2024, Yu Guimin still appeared in this capacity at the commencement ceremony of the world’s largest hydraulic fracturing vessel constructed for CNOOC.
Earlier in May, Qi Meisheng, former Deputy Chief Economist of CNOOC and former Party Secretary and Chairman of the Board of China National Offshore Oil and Gas Limited, was also announced to be under investigation for serious violations of discipline and law.
Coincidentally, Qi Meisheng had been working at CNOOC Service for nearly 20 years and had connections with the above-mentioned three individuals. In 2013, Qi Meisheng became Vice President of CNOOC Service and then was promoted to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of CNOOC Service in June 2016. By March 2018, he was appointed Chairman of CNOOC Service, and in April 2021, he resigned from the position.
On April 2, Fang Zhi, former Vice President of CNOOC, and Chen Ming, former Coordinator of the Bohai Area Coordination Working Group at the Tianjin Branch of CNOOC, were both investigated.
Furthermore, on March 15, Li Yong, former Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of CNOOC, was investigated for serious violations of discipline and law. Li Yong had worked in the CNOOC system for nearly 36 years, including nearly 11 years at CNOOC Service (2005-2016).
The state-owned giant CNOOC has seen a number of its top executives fall from grace just this year.
Corruption in the CCP has reached a point where it is widely believed that almost no officials are exempt from engaging in corrupt practices. The simultaneous investigations of four senior executives from a state-owned enterprise on the same day have raised concerns. Lai Rongwei, Executive Director of the Taiwan Inspirational Association, expressed to Epoch Times on the 10th that within these industries where power is concentrated, there are likely vested interests among the elite. He believes that there are factions within these state-owned enterprises and government-owned enterprises that are opposed to Xi Jinping’s leadership. The intricate network of interests behind these state-owned and government-owned enterprises likely goes beyond imagination.
He further stated that those entrenched within these systems control the transmission of benefits and wield significant resources. They may even collude with overseas entities and integrate dissenting voices against Xi Jinping.
He believes that despite Xi Jinping holding power within the Party and the state, he also suffers from a strong sense of insecurity. Therefore, one of the objectives of the anti-corruption campaign is to maintain the stability of the regime and seize many of the resources held by these individuals. Additionally, it serves to take back many resources from them.
He also pointed out that the assets recovered through the so-called anti-corruption efforts may not necessarily be used to address the fiscal deficits at the central and local levels but may attract more powerful individuals to vie for the assets that have been confiscated.
Lai Rongwei emphasized that “although the CCP’s anti-corruption measures may appear to be a feasible approach, they might bring threats and mistrust from the international community to China and increase distrust from both foreign investors and the Chinese people. Therefore, it seems to be caught in a vicious cycle.”
Liberal legal scholar Yuan Hongbing told Epoch Times reporters on the 9th that in the current CCP officialdom under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the most dangerous group is the retired CCP officials. Through the so-called anti-corruption campaign, Xi Jinping aims to confiscate the wealth of these officials without compensation.
“Over the past decades, it can be said that almost every official is corrupt, and no benefits are untainted. Therefore, these officials have become Xi Jinping’s treasury. If Xi Jinping lacks funds for military spending, he just taps into this source of money.”
Yuan Hongbing emphasized that “the assets of these retired officials serve as Xi Jinping’s money bag. By arbitrarily investigating anyone, it is certain that corruption will be found. Following this corruption probe, their personal assets are confiscated, used as military spending, and used to fund actions such as triggering a war in the Taiwan Strait. Therefore, the millions of retired CCP officials are a high-risk group under Xi Jinping’s regime.”
Local CCP finances are under strain, with reports of some regions unable to pay government employees. Official data shows a decrease in tax revenue in China during the January to April period, with national tax revenue amounting to 6.6938 trillion yuan, a 4.9% year-on-year decrease, which is uncommon in a rapidly developing China with high growth rates over the decades. On the other hand, expenditures are increasing, with general public budget expenditures reaching 8.9483 trillion yuan from January to April, a 3.5% year-on-year increase as reported by the BBC.