Former senior official of Ningxia sentenced to death

Qi Tongsheng, former chairman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes worth 111 million yuan ($15.76 million) by the Nanning Intermediate People's Court in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Tuesday.

The court also stripped him of his political rights for life, confiscated all his personal assets, and ordered that the recovered bribes and their accrued interest be turned over to the state treasury.

In China, a suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life imprisonment if no new crimes are committed during the two-year probation period, and the life term can later be reduced for good behavior.

It was found that between January 2004 and November 2021, Qi leveraged his different positions, including director of Ningxia's development and reform commission, vice-chairman of the regional government, chairman of the CPPCC Ningxia Hui autonomous region committee, and deputy director of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, to assist enterprises and individuals with mining license issuance, project registration and approval, and project contracting. In return, he accepted bribes totaling over 111 million yuan.

The court ruled that Qi's acts constituted bribery involving an extremely large sum, causing particularly heavy losses to national and public interests. However, it granted leniency, citing attempted bribery circumstances, his truthful confession of unreported crimes, and active restitution of stolen assets.

The case was heard publicly in September. During the trial, Qi and his defense counsel cross-examined the evidence presented by prosecutors. Qi pleaded guilty and made a final statement in court.

Born in Hebei province in 1952, Qi joined the Communist Party of China in 1984, spending most of his career in Ningxia. He served as director of Ningxia's development and reform commission from 2002 to January 2005, then as vice-chairman of the regional government until January 2013, when he took office as chairman of the CPPCC Ningxia Hui autonomous region committee.

In March 2018, Qi became deputy director of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the CPPCC National Committee, retiring from the post in March 2023.

He was placed under investigation in October 2024, expelled from the Party in March 2025, and arrested the same month. Nanning prosecutors initiated a public prosecution against him in July this year.