On December 12, 2024, former deputy general manager of China’s CITIC Group, Xu Zuo, was expelled from the party and removed from public office, and has been transferred to judicial authorities. Xu Zuo had been under investigation while in office since June 9th of this year. The CITIC Group has long been known as a gathering place for princelings within the Chinese Communist Party.
The announcement from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission of the CCP on December 12th stated that Xu Zuo, former member of the party committee and deputy general manager of the CITIC Group, polluted the political ecology of the company, resisted organizational inspection, accepted banquets and gifts in violation of regulations, concealed family property information, sought benefits for others in cadre selection and staff recruitment, illegally held shares of non-listed companies for personal gain, engaged in corrupt practices by trading power for personal gain, and illegally accepted large sums of money. Furthermore, Xu Zuo engaged in “crony capitalism”, operated similar businesses to the employing company for massive illegal gains.
Xu Zuo’s public profile shows that he was born in October 1965 in Dawu, Hubei Province, and graduated from Kunming Institute of Technology (now Kunming University of Science and Technology) with a degree in metallurgy and heat treatment. He previously served as a representative of the 14th National People’s Congress of the CCP, and held positions as deputy general manager and chief engineer at China CITIC Group, as well as chairman of CITIC DCA Co., Ltd.
The CITIC Group Co., Ltd. (formerly the China International Trust and Investment Corporation) was founded by Rong Yiren, a “red capitalist,” with the support of former CCP leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979. The company underwent institutional reform in 2002, changing its name to China CITIC Group Company, becoming an authorized investment institution of the CCP. In 2011, the group was restructured as a wholly state-owned enterprise, renamed China CITIC Group Co., Ltd.
It’s worth noting that Xu Zuo’s investigation announcement back in June 9th sent shockwaves through the Chinese financial sector, underscoring the continued crackdown on corruption within the party and state-owned enterprises.