Recently, the General Manager Hao Zhaoping and Deputy General Manager Yang Wei of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (referred to as “AVIC”) have both been dismissed from their positions. The official reasons for their removal have not been disclosed so far. The company’s official website now shows that Wei Yingbiao has taken over as the Director, General Manager, and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of AVIC. Yang Wei is known as the “father of the J-20” within the Chinese Communist Party. His dismissal has attracted attention.
On January 18th, the resumes of the Group’s General Manager, Hao Zhaoping, and Deputy General Manager, Yang Wei, were both removed from the “Leadership Team” section of the AVIC official website. The latest information on the website indicates that Wei Yingbiao is the new General Manager, also serving as a Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of AVIC.
Wei Yingbiao previously served as the Deputy General Manager, Party Committee Secretary, and Chairman of the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Ltd. of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, as well as the Deputy General Manager, Party Committee Member of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China.
According to the “Red Star News,” on January 20th, when they called the AVIC spokesperson’s office, they stated that they were not aware of the specific situation and that any personnel adjustments would be subject to official notification.
AVIC oversees more than 100 subsidiary units with approximately 400,000 employees.
Public records show that Yang Wei has been engaged in the design and development of fighter jets for a long time, participating in the research and development of the third-generation fighter jet J-10, as well as the design and development of China’s first stealth fighter J-20 and various special models such as the “Owl Dragon”. He started as a designer and gradually rose to positions such as Director of AVIC Chengdu Institute, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Deputy Chief Engineer, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Committee, Deputy General Manager. He is also a representative of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and is known as the “father of the J-20”.
Hao Zhaoping, also from a technical background, previously served as the Director and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. In April 2019, he was transferred to the position of Deputy General Manager and General Manager of AVIC.
Reports from the Mainland media state that both Hao Zhaoping and Yang Wei have been dismissed, but the official reasons have not been disclosed. As of now, their whereabouts remain unknown.
On January 19th, the mainland financial website “Caixin” exclusive report “Chief Designer of J-20 Yang Wei and General Manager Hao Zhaoping Removed from Office, AVIC Management Continues to Adjust” was also taken down.
In recent years, corruption cases in the Chinese Communist Party’s military and defense industry state-owned enterprises have been continuously exposed. Senior officials in charge of manufacturing military equipment by the Chinese Communist Party constantly fall from grace. Apart from Yang Wei, the “father of the J-20” at AVIC, there are also cases such as Sun Bo, the General Manager, and Hu Wenming, the Chairman of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), responsible for retrofitting the Ukrainian Varyag into China’s first domestically built aircraft carrier, Liaoning, and manufacturing the second domestically built aircraft carrier, Shandong, who were both taken down in 2018 and 2020.
The commissioning of the first ship of the domestically built 076 amphibious assault ship (Sichuan ship) last year was widely publicized by the Chinese Communist Party. However, during the same period, the leadership at the shipbuilding group was changed, with the former Chairman Wen Gang’s whereabouts unknown, and the Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Du Gang, has also been missing for a long time. According to the usual practice of the Chinese Communist Party, this indicates that both may have encountered issues.
Since 2023, the Chinese Communist Party has unleashed an unprecedented cleansing storm in the military, having taken down dozens of generals, including senior officers from the Rocket Force, Equipment Development Department, and the top echelons of the military-industrial complex, including two former Defense Ministers – Wei Feng and Li Shangfu. State-owned military-industrial enterprises have also been shaken. Over the past two years, several senior officials in the military-industrial enterprises have been purged. In 2024, two officials related to military equipment had their positions as National Committee members of the CPPCC revoked – Wang Xiaojun, former Director of the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, and Xiao Longxu, former Chief Engineer of the Rocket Force Research Institute.
Additionally, Wu Yansheng, Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, and Liu Shiquan, Chairman of China Ordnance Industry Group, were stripped of their status as CPPCC National Committee members in December 2023. Fallen or disappeared communist military-industrial giants also include Wang Changqing, Deputy General Manager of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, Yuan Jie, Chairman of China Aerospace Science and Industry Group, Tan Ruisong, former Chairman of AVIC, and Chen Zhaoxiong and Wu Manqing, former Chairman and General Manager of China Electronics Technology Group, respectively.