CITIC Group's deputy general manager under investigation

Xu Zuo, deputy general manager of CITIC Group, a State-owned financial conglomerate, is being investigated on suspicion of severe violations of Party discipline and national laws, the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision, China's top anti-graft watchdogs, announced on Sunday.

Xu, a 58-year-old native of Hubei province, once served as the general manager, Party chief and vice-chairman of CITIC Dicastal, a large supplier of aluminum wheels and aluminum chassis parts headquartered in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province.

In October 2016, he served as the assistant general manager of CITIC Group and chairman and Party secretary of CITIC Dicastal at the same time. In September 2019, he became the deputy general manager of CITIC Group.

Xu is an expert in the field of aluminum alloy metallurgy. In 2019 he received the second prize in the National Science and Technology Progress Award for being one of the main contributors to the key technology for making large aluminum alloy wheels. He also received the 2022 Hebei Province Science and Technology Outstanding Contribution Award, among other honors.

Xu is the 31st official under the management of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee to undergo disciplinary review and investigation this year. Others have included Lou Wenlong, former vice-president of Agricultural Bank of China, and Li Jiping, former vice-president of China Development Bank.

The third round of inspections by the CPC's 20th Central Committee commenced in April, with 15 inspection teams conducting routine disciplinary inspections of 34 economic departments and financial units, including CITIC Group.

The 12th central inspection team was stationed in the group in mid-April, with its inspection work expected to last for about three months.

In recent years, financial units and State-owned enterprises have been major focuses of anticorruption efforts.

A communique issued at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection in January emphasized the need to intensify efforts to address corruption in the financial sector, State-owned enterprises, the energy, tobacco and pharmaceutical industries, infrastructure projects and bidding processes.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn