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2018 - Sun Bo - China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC)

One of the top executives at the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is under investigation for allegedly selling secrets about the Liaoning aircraft carrier to US intelligence operatives. CSIC general manager Sun Bo is the subject of a new criminal investigation for potential "gross violation of laws and party discipline," the Asia Times reported 21 June 2018. The Communist Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervision Commission posted a one-line announcement on June 18 alerting the public that the senior executive was under investigation.

Sun allegedly passed along classified information to the US' Central Intelligence Agency regarding the Liaoning's design and specifications following years of modifications of the Soviet-constructed ship that took place at CSIC's Dalian shipyard. Since the design of China's first domestically-built carrier, the Type 001A, is derived significantly from the Liaoning in terms of design, multiple Chinese outlets have questioned if Sun also gave the CIA drawings about the Type 001A.

According to the ATimes, Sun holds a PhD in vessel construction and design from the Dalian University of Technology. The executive, aged 57, "spent most of his career heading the Dalian Shipyard when the Liaoning was being rebuilt there," according to the outlet. The Liaoning, then known as Varyag, arrived in Dalian in March 2002. It completed sea trials with the PLA-N in September 2012, rechristened as Liaoning. CSIC said on WeChat that company president Hu Wenming had emphasized the "paramount urgency to stay loyal to the party and fend off infiltration as well as graft" during a company meeting.

Apart from Sun, Liu Changhong, also a member of the leading Party group with the CSIC and head of the company's discipline inspection group was reportedly being investigated for "serious discipline breaches," according to a statement published on the CCDI website in November 2016, Xinhua News Agency reported.

These CSIC cases showcase that the Party's anti-corruption campaign leaves no blind spots and is paying extremely close attention to national key industries at the beginning of the New Era, Zhang Xixian, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing told the Global Times.

The CSIC is China's largest manufacturer of naval products and designs and builds many different types of naval ships including submarines, guided missile destroyers and fleet replenishment vessels. CSIC has designed and built, among many prominent naval vessels, the country's first domestically-built aircraft carrier, known as the Type 001A, and the company also disclosed in February its plan to build China's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier as part of the weaponry upgrades for the Chinese Navy by 2025.

Although key national programs such as aircraft carrier design and manufacture is strictly supervised by various national agencies, and cannot be easily affected by a few individuals, it is crucial to deter the possibility of treachery among state firms' leaders that threatens national security, Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator told the Global Times.

Since corrupt officials are vulnerable to temptation by foreign enemies, if they remain in key posts in the national defense technology and industry sector, national interests and state secrets are at stake, Li Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army, told the Global Times.