Senior Chinese Space and Defence Industry Official Investigated for Corruption

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is conducting an investigation into Bian Zhigang, Vice Head of the State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), for suspected serious violations. Bian, who is also a member of the agency’s Communist Party of China Leading Party Members Group, is being investigated by the CCDI and the National Supervisory Commission for alleged serious breaches of discipline and law, according to local media. Citing a CCDI announcement, Chinese state media reported that Bian has long worked in China’s science, technology and defence industry sectors. He has held the position of vice head of the administration since February 2024. The SASTIND Leading Party Members Group subsequently issued an official statement supporting the CCDI’s action in investigating Bian Zhigang. ‘This decision also fully sends a strong signal that the fight against corruption will continue to the very end, without stopping a single step or retreating half a step,’ said Shan Zhongde, Secretary of the Leading Party Members Group and Head of the Administration. Bian is known to have built his career at SASTIND, which is tasked with overseeing the development of the defence industry. He also previously served as Vice Administrator of the China National Space Administration (CNSA). As Vice Administrator of CNSA, Bian actively represented the agency in numerous international forums discussing lunar exploration projects and global space cooperation developed by China. In addition to Bian, another case involving an official in China’s space agency is that of Ma Xingrui, a former member of the Politburo and former Party Secretary in Xinjiang. In April 2026, the CCDI announced an investigation into Ma for suspected ‘serious violations of discipline and law’. Ma is an official who worked for a long time at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. He served as the company’s general manager from 2007 to 2013, and was deputy commander of China’s manned space programme and commander of the new-generation launch vehicle project. The case of Bian adds to the long list of officials placed under investigation as part of the anti-corruption drive initiated by Xi Jinping since 2012. The CCDI and the National Supervisory Commission reported that throughout 2025, a total of 69 officials at the provincial level or higher, along with 983,000 individuals, were sentenced for corruption cases.