Key Figure in Chinese Aircraft Carrier Development Arrested on Bribery and Abuse of Power Charges

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Hu Yuanming, former chairman of China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), the key figure behind the development of Chinese aircraft carriers, was arrested on charges of bribery and abuse of power, according to the state-run Global Times on the 21st.

According to the report, the Supreme People's Procuratorate of China recently arrested former Chairman Hu. He is said to have engaged in excessive entertainment contrary to party guidelines, private gain, and improper stock investments.

Earlier, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party's disciplinary and supervisory body, stated that former Chairman Hu committed serious disciplinary violations and imposed the "double expulsion" punishment, stripping him of his party membership and public office.

Born in 1957, former Chairman Hu worked at a state-owned weapons company that develops and manufactures military aircraft and armored vehicles. He was responsible for overseeing the production of China's first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, as well as the second carrier, the Shandong. He suddenly resigned from his chairman position three months before the commissioning of the Shandong in 2019 and has since been under investigation by Chinese supervisory authorities.