In Chengdu, Sichuan, a decade-old entanglement involving former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, Zhou Yongkang, has resurfaced with the case of He Yan, or known as “He Ran,” a prominent female entrepreneur and major shareholder of Guo Teng Electronics Group Limited (hereinafter referred to as Guo Teng Electronics). Following the troubles faced by He Yan, surrounding the control of Chengdu Zhenxin Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Zhenxin Technology) which holds the majority stake in Guo Teng Electronics, she and several business partners eventually turned against each other.
According to the latest report by “Caixin Weekly,” Mo Xiaoyu, a 68-year-old co-founder of Zhenxin Technology, likened the relationship between his company and the controlling shareholder Guo Teng Electronics to “wanting a divorce but unable to do so.”
22 years ago, Mo Xiaoyu, Xie Jun, Xu Jin, and Bai Jie established a partnership with the support of Sichuan female tycoon He Yan. In August 2010, Zhenxin Technology went public on the ChiNext board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, becoming the “number one satellite stock” at that time. Zhenxin Technology, with a total market value exceeding 12.3 billion yuan, is a service provider for the Beidou satellite navigation system, specializing in high-end integrated circuits, satellite navigation, artificial intelligence, and other equipment products and services.
Guo Teng Electronics, the controlling shareholder of Zhenxin Technology, was established in 2005. He Yan holds a 51% stake in Guo Teng Electronics, while Mo Xiaoyu and the other three members of the Zhenxin Technology startup team collectively hold a 49% stake, with Mo Xiaoyu having a 28% stake, and Bai Jie, Xu Jin, and Xie Jun each holding 7%.
He Yan, a 64-year-old native of Chengdu, Sichuan, was the chairwoman of Chengdu Guo Teng Group before the establishment of Zhenxin Technology and appeared on the Forbes China Rich List in 2001 and 2002 under the name “He Ran.”
According to Mo Xiaoyu, Guo Teng Electronics is a financial investment company, with Zhenxin Technology being its main investment target, accounting for over 95% of its total assets. Major shareholder He Yan is only a financial investor, not involved in day-to-day management or holding any position in the company.
Public records show that Mo Xiaoyu has long served as the chairman of Guo Teng Electronics and Zhenxin Technology, while Xie Jun, Bai Jie, and Xu Jin have held corresponding positions as directors and general managers of Guo Teng Electronics and Zhenxin Technology.
The crisis began in the fourth year after Zhenxin Technology went public. In July 2014, former member of the CPC Political Bureau Standing Committee, Zhou Yongkang, was investigated, implicating He Yan in the case.
In June 2015, Zhou Yongkang was secretly tried and sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery, abuse of power, and intentionally leaking state secrets, among which the abuse of power charge included providing assistance to persons such as Jiang Jiemin, Li Chuncheng, for conducting business activities for Zhou Bin, Zhou Feng, Zhou Yuanqing, He Yan, Cao Yongzheng, resulting in illegal profits of over 2.136 billion yuan, causing economic losses of over 1.486 billion yuan.
In February 2016, He Yan was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement and issuing false invoices. With the actual controller implicated in the case, Zhenxin Technology faced difficulties in its daily operations and financing. Subsequently, the relationship between Mo Xiaoyu, Xie Jun, Xu Jin, Bai Jie, and major shareholder He Yan became sharply antagonistic.
As He Yan still legally represents Zhenxin Technology shareholders, her involvement in the Zhou Yongkang case cast a shadow over the development of Zhenxin Technology. Since 2018, Mo Xiaoyu and the other four individuals have sought to dissolve Guo Teng Electronics through judicial rulings in order to break free from He Yan.
During an interview with “Caixin,” Mo Xiaoyu stated that only through a judicial ruling to dissolve Guo Teng Electronics can the listed company rid itself of the governance crisis imposed by He Yan’s actual control. In September 2018, the Chengdu High-tech District Court ruled in the first instance to dissolve Guo Teng Electronics in support of Mo Xiaoyu and others’ claims. He Yan appealed quickly to the Chengdu Intermediate Court. In addition, during the first instance of the case, He Yan also reorganized the board of directors and supervisory board of Guo Teng Electronics.
In November 2021, after a retrial by the Chengdu High-tech District Court, the first instance judgment dismissing the lawsuit filed by Mo Xiaoyu and the other four minority shareholders seeking to dissolve Guo Teng Electronics was upheld. Mo Xiaoyu and others appealed to the Chengdu Intermediate Court. Three years later, on December 30, 2024, the Chengdu Intermediate Court rendered a final judgment rejecting the appeal of Mo Xiaoyu and others, upholding the original ruling.
During He Yan’s imprisonment, Zhenxin Technology temporarily lacked an actual controller in 2020. However, following the final judgment by the Chengdu Intermediate Court on the dissolution dispute at the end of December 2024, Zhenxin Technology announced on January 15, 2025, that He Yan had regained control of the company.
Political commentator Li Lin expressed to Dajiyuan that the ongoing internal turmoil and discord in the company due to the fallout between female tycoon He Yan and her business partners stems from political factors. This also confirms that the political struggles of the CPC have impacted private enterprises, including the Beidou industry. “In fact, during Xi Jinping’s over a decade of so-called anti-corruption campaign, such corporate disputes cases will be very common, but most cases are rarely reported.”
In its early years, Dajiyuan reported that He Yan served as the General Manager of Chengdu Guoteng Communications Co., Ltd. in 1995. In 1999, shortly after Zhou Yongkang was transferred from Beijing to Sichuan, he met He Yan through an introduction. With Zhou Yongkang’s support, He Yan transformed the state-owned enterprise, Guoteng Group, with an annual sales exceeding 5 billion yuan, into a private enterprise.
After Zhou Yongkang became the Secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Committee, He Yan amassed wealth through the military and civilian Beidou navigation system. The Beidou navigation system, used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and communication, became a lucrative tool favored by various levels of the political and legal system led by Zhou Yongkang. Particularly during meetings in Zhongnanhai, extensive “security arrangements” were deployed, allowing Zhou Yongkang to eavesdrop on his political opponents.
“Phoenix Weekly” reported that several women had inappropriate relationships with Zhou Yongkang, among them, a woman known as the “beautiful and rich woman of Tianfu,” a reference to the wealthy female entrepreneur from Chengdu, H, confirmed to have an unusual relationship with Zhou Yongkang. The wealthy female entrepreneur H is none other than He Yan.