China expels former aerospace boss and military auditor from top legislature

Name: PLA anti-graft chief Zhang Shengmin promoted to vice-chair of Central Military Commission
Uploaded: 2025-10-29T07:06:15.000Z
Duration: 1 min 33 s
Description: PLA anti-graft chief Zhang Shengmin promoted to vice-chair of Central Military Commission

Xu Dazhe, former vice-minister and space programme director, and Sun Bin, who was CMC auditor, have been removed from NPC duties

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Xu Dazhe, former party secretary of Hunan province and long-time aerospace official, has been expelled from the National People’s Congress, according to the NPC Standing Committee. Photo: NPC

Alcott Weiin Beijing

Published: 3:06pm, 29 Oct 2025Updated: 3:52pm, 29 Oct 2025

Beijing expelled a former senior official with an aerospace background and a military auditor from the top national legislature on Tuesday amid its deepening anti-corruption drive.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress said on Tuesday that five officials had been removed from their NPC duties.

The most senior of them is Xu Dazhe, former Communist Party secretary of Hunan province. The NPC did not say if he was under investigation for corruption but Xu, who left the party secretary role in 2021, has a background in aerospace engineering, a sector heavily hit by Beijing’s anti-corruption drive in the past three years.

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PLA anti-graft chief Zhang Shengmin promoted to vice-chair of Central Military Commission

Xu, 69, joined China’s former Ministry of Aerospace Industry in 1984 and worked within the system for around 32 years.

In 2013, Xu was appointed vice-minister of industry and information technology and director of the China National Space Administration, during which time he led China’s lunar exploration programme. In 2016, he announced the initiation of China’s Mars exploration programme.

Xu was appointed governor of Hunan province in 2016 and became the provincial party secretary in 2020, before stepping down in October 2021.

Xu is among a slew of aerospace engineers promoted to key offices under President Xi Jinping. Two officials with this technocratic background are members of the Politburo: Ma Xingrui, former party chief of Xinjiang; and Yuan Jiajun, party chief of Chongqing.

In the past three years, China’s anti-graft campaign has rounded up multiple executives from the aerospace sector.

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