China places former chairman of top aircraft maker AVIC under investigation for corruption

Tan Ruisong, AVIC chairman from 2018 to 2023, is accused of ‘severe violations’ of the law and party discipline

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AVIC, through its many subsidiaries, manufactures some of China’s leading fighter aircraft such as the J-10 (pictured), J-11 and J-20. Photo: AP

Published: 4:00pm, 31 Aug 2024

A former head of China’s leading aircraft manufacturer has been placed under investigation as Beijing pushes ahead with anti-corruption efforts in sectors crucial to its military capacity.

Tan Ruisong, chairman of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) from 2018 to 2023, is suspected to have committed “severe violations” of the law and Communist Party discipline.

He is being investigated by the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Commission of Supervision, according to a statement released on Friday.

Tan Ruisong was removed from his post at state-owned giant AVIC in March 2023 for age reasons. Photo: Sina

The country’s top anti-corruption watchdogs did not provide details of the alleged “severe violations”, a euphemism for corruption.

Tan, 62, was removed from his post at state-owned giant AVIC in March 2023 for age reasons, according to the party’s personnel management arm.

Tan, a native of Hunan province, is a technocrat trained in aviation engine design, manufacturing and engineering. He had spent two decades with AVIC, a conglomerate with over 100 subsidiaries and 450,000 employees worldwide – more than America’s Boeing and Europe’s Airbus combined.

AVIC was the sixth largest defence contractor globally as of 2022 and second largest Chinese defence contractor by annual revenue after China North Industries Group, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

In 2022, Tan vowed to turn AVIC into a world-class military equipment supplier.