China executed China Huarong top manager: what was the reason?
9 December 20:34
On December 9, China executed Bai Tianhui, the former general manager of a subsidiary of the state-owned China Huarong. This is one of the most high-profile cases in the current phase of the anti-corruption campaign, which has been going on in the country for more than a decade. The execution of the sentence was reported by the state-run Xinhua news agency, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Serious charges and unprecedented amounts
Bai was convicted in May 2024 for accepting bribes worth 1.1 billion yuan, or approximately $157 million. The Supreme People’s Court found that from 2014 to 2018, the official used his official powers to help companies acquire assets and corporate financing in exchange for illegal rewards.
The court described the scale of the crime as “extremely serious” and handed down the final sentence of death, a lifetime ban on political rights, and full confiscation of personal property.
Sentence as a signal to the financial sector
China Huarong is one of the largest state-owned distressed asset management companies in China. At one time, it was created to clean up the banking system, but it has repeatedly been at the center of corruption scandals. In 2021, another top executive of the corporation, Lai Xiaoming, was also executed for corruption.
Bai’s execution is another high-profile move that observers say is aimed at strengthening discipline in state-owned companies, especially in the financial sector, which is under scrutiny in Beijing due to high debts and risks to economic stability.
An anti-corruption campaign with no end date
Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption policy remains one of the key elements of the party’s political course. Chinese courts are increasingly demonstrating toughness in cases involving public finances.
Bai Tianhui’s sentence continues a trend that looks like a clear signal: officials involved in asset management and financial instruments can expect the most severe punishments possible.
The execution of a high-ranking official of this level has several consequences
- adomestic political signal of the firmness of the anti-corruption campaign;
- reassurance to the market, which has been watching reforms in state-owned companies after a series of financial crises;
- a warning to the public sector, especially at a time when the government is seeking to strengthen its control over key economic institutions.
The event also demonstrates that Beijing is willing to continue to use the harshest forms of punishment to maintain confidence in state-owned financial institutions – even despite international criticism of the use of the death penalty.
