Former Secretary of the Guilin City Committee of the Communist Party of China, Zhou Jiabin, has been expelled from the party and dismissed from public office due to his violation of party discipline. Official reports stated that he made unfounded criticisms of the central government, engaged in power-for-sex transactions, and illegally accepted large sums of money. Zhou Jiabin had previously worked alongside Zhao Leqin, the younger brother of current Politburo Standing Committee member Zhao Leji, in Guilin. Zhou served as the Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Guilin under Zhao Leqin’s leadership, and several of Zhao’s former subordinates have since been embroiled in corruption scandals.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Supervisory Commission announced on June 20th that they have initiated an investigation into Zhou Jiabin, the former Secretary of the Guilin City Committee and former Deputy Director of the Guangxi People’s Congress Standing Committee.
According to the report, Zhou Jiabin was involved in “unfounded criticisms of the major policies of the CPC Central Committee, engaging in speculative activities, associating with political fraudsters,” engaging in power-for-sex transactions, illegally accepting large sums of money, which constitutes a serious violation of duty and suspicion of bribery.
Zhou Jiabin’s party membership and public office have been terminated, his qualification as a representative of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has been revoked, and he has been transferred for prosecution.
Public records show that Zhou Jiabin, born in September 1964 in Juancheng, Shandong, has held various government positions including Deputy Director of the Guangxi Construction Department and Deputy Mayor of Nanning. In February 2021, he became the Secretary of the Guilin City Committee of the Communist Party of China but was subsequently investigated in December 2024.
Zhou Jiabin has had connections with Zhao Leqin, the younger brother of current Politburo Standing Committee member Zhao Leji, in their political careers. When Zhao Leqin was the Secretary of the Guilin City Committee, Zhou Jiabin served as Deputy Secretary and Mayor, and later succeeded Zhao Leqin in the Secretary position.
Since 2024, several high-level officials in Guilin have been implicated in corruption cases, including Vice Chairman of the Guilin Municipal Political Consultative Conference Lu Zhicheng, Vice Chairmen of the Guilin Municipal People’s Congress Tang Xiuxuan and Lin Wumin, and Zhou Jiabin, the Deputy Director of the Guangxi People’s Congress Standing Committee and Secretary of the Guilin City Committee. All four were formerly subordinates of Zhao Leqin during his tenure in Guilin. The ongoing scandals in Guilin have raised concerns about potential involvement of Zhao Leqin and even Zhao Leji.