China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (referred to as “China Electronics”), a key defense enterprise of the Chinese Communist Party, has arrested its Vice General Manager He Wenzhong. He was publicly announced to have fallen from grace half a year ago, less than a year after taking office.
On Thursday, October 24th, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of the Communist Party of China reported that He Wenzhong, former member of the Party committee and Vice General Manager of China Electronics, was suspected of bribery. The case, investigated by the National Supervisory Commission, has been concluded and transferred to the procuratorial organ for review and prosecution. Recently, under the designated jurisdiction of the Hebei Provincial Procuratorate, He Wenzhong has been arrested on suspicion of bribery.
According to public records, He Wenzhong, born in 1970, has served as the Party Secretary, Executive Director, and General Manager of China Electronics Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., as well as Chief Engineer, Executive Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Committee, and Director of the Asset Management Department (concurrently) of China Electronics.
On May 11, 2023, He Wenzhong was appointed as Vice General Manager and member of the Party committee of China Electronics Group.
On April 7 of this year, the Communist Party publicly announced He Wenzhong’s fall from grace, less than a year after taking office.
The Financial Times reported on April 9 that He Wenzhong, as a senior executive of one of the Chinese Communist Party’s largest military equipment suppliers, being investigated is a new sign of turmoil in the Chinese defense sector.
Furthermore, China Electronics has been sanctioned by the U.S. government multiple times since 2018 for assisting the Chinese Communist Party in human rights abuses.
In particular, on August 27, 2020, several enterprises (research institutes) under China Electronics were sanctioned for “assisting the Chinese (Communist) military in building artificial islands in the South China Sea.” On July 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security included 14 enterprises, including the China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology, on the Entity List for assisting the Chinese government’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
According to the introduction on China Electronics’ official website, the group was established in 2002 based on 46 electronic research institutes directly under the former Ministry of Information Industry of the Communist Party of China and 26 enterprises. It currently has 17 listed companies and 200,000 employees. China Electronics is a “centrally managed state-owned key enterprise” and serves as the “main force in military electronics, national team of network information business, and national strategic scientific and technological strength” for the Chinese Communist Party.
The group’s defense electronic products range from radars to unmanned aerial vehicle clusters, navigation, and electronic warfare systems. It has dozens of subsidiaries, including Hikvision, which produces surveillance equipment and has also been sanctioned by the U.S.