1. Chinese prosecutors have formally indicted former Chengdu Mayor Wang Fengchao on bribery charges, alleging that he exploited his positions across state-owned enterprises and government to secure benefits for others in exchange for illicit payments. [para. 1] The Supreme People's Procuratorate ordered his arrest and assigned prosecutors in Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan province, to handle the case, which was recently filed with the city's intermediate people's court. [para. 2]
2. Wang, aged 60, was placed under investigation by China's top anticorruption agency in November 2025 while serving concurrently as Chengdu's deputy Communist Party chief and mayor. He was subsequently expelled from the party and removed from public office in June before being transferred to judicial authorities. [para. 3] Prosecutors allege that Wang illegally accepted an "especially large" amount of property while leveraging his authority to assist others with project contracting, financing, and corporate operations, although they did not disclose the specific value of the bribes or the individuals and companies involved. [para. 4]
3. This indictment marks Wang as the 45th centrally managed official—senior cadres whose appointments fall under the Communist Party's central leadership—to face corruption-related prosecution this year. [para. 5] His career spanned from senior roles at Sichuan Changhong Electronics Group and its listed unit, Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., beginning in the mid-1990s, to later positions as vice chairman of the group and general manager of the listed company, before transitioning to government posts in Sichuan province and Chengdu. [para. 6] The alleged misconduct could cover roughly 24 years, starting with his 1996 appointment as a Changhong vice general manager and head of its air-conditioner-products unit. [para. 7] Notably, his approximately five-year tenure at Sichuan Airlines Group was not cited in the statement, despite a series of investigations into former airline system executives after Wang's downfall. [para. 8] The scope of accusations supports investigators' earlier characterization that authorities had reviewed nearly three decades of Wang's conduct, including his 28-year career in state-owned enterprises. [para. 9]
4. In June, the Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission stated that Wang had pursued image-building and vanity projects to advance his career, violated requirements for high-quality development at state-owned enterprises, and obstructed the organization's investigation. [para. 10] They further accused him of accepting meals, travel, and fitness activities that could have affected the impartial performance of his duties; failing to disclose personal matters as required; taking gifts and cash; engaging improperly in profit-making activities; and interfering in market and judicial activities. [para. 11] The reference to fitness activities is rare in disciplinary announcements, with only three other high-level officials previously facing similar allegations, according to Caixin's review of official disclosures. [para. 12]
5. A Sichuan provincial party meeting following Wang's expulsion concluded that his case illustrated the risks of distorted views of political achievement, abuse of authority, deteriorating conduct, and weak party discipline. [para. 13]
6. Wang was born in December 1965 in Zhongjiang county, Sichuan, joined the Communist Party in 1986, and graduated from the Chengdu Institute of Radio Engineering, now the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. He began his career that year at Changhong Machine Factory, the predecessor of the Changhong group, and rose through its ranks, becoming regarded as one of the company's three early entrepreneurial leaders. [para. 14] In 2005, he moved into government as vice mayor of Neijiang, overseeing industry, and two years later became a deputy director of Sichuan's state-assets regulator, responsible for corporate restructuring and reform. [para. 15]
7. In 2010, Wang joined Sichuan Airlines Group, first serving as vice chairman and general manager and later as party chief and chairman, making him one of the few leaders of a domestic aviation group who did not come from within the civil-aviation system. [para. 16] In June 2015, he became party chief and chairman of Sichuan Development Holding Co., a provincial investment and financing conglomerate, leaving the airline group that December, and also chaired Sichuan Financial Holding Group, formed in 2017. [para. 17] Under his tenure, Sichuan Development acquired stakes in four listed companies and became Sichuan's first state-owned enterprise with total assets exceeding 1 trillion yuan (about $149 billion). [para. 18]
8. In 2019, Wang was appointed vice governor of Sichuan, overseeing industrial development, science and technology, state assets, telecommunications, and civil-military integration. A year later, he became acting mayor of Chengdu and was formally elected mayor in September 2020. [para. 19] The central party inspection authority began a new inspection of Sichuan in April 2025, which included a joint inspection of Chengdu conducted by central and provincial inspectors. [para. 20]
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