Bigger graft crackdown for China's energy sector still to come

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-05-30

The National Energy Administration's offices.
(File photo/CNS)

The Chinese government has extended the reach of its anti-corruption campaign to the energy sector by ousting a number of major figures in the field, which, said insiders, may be just the start of an even bigger crackdown.

There have been 21 energy-related ranking officials on the blacklist including three from the National Energy Administration, former chief Liu Tienan, former deputy chief Xu Yongsheng, and the former director of the administration's new energy and renewable energy department Wang Jun.

The authorities have taken extensive action against energy officials following over half-a-year investigation starting last year, in the wake of the ousting of Liu Tienan. "The government crackdown on energy officials will step up further," said an insider with close links to the National Energy Administration, according to Guangzhou's Time Weekly.

Many of the ousted officials are veterans in the energy field, which has had a profound influence on the nation's energy policy. Wang Jun, for instance, was one of the masterminds of the reform of the nation's power system and oversaw the promotion of new energies during his six-year tenure heading the new energy department.

Insiders said that those ranking energy officials might have taken bribes, taking advantage of their power to approve investments projects in the fields of power, coal, and new energies. Ren Haoning, senior researcher at CI Consulting, remarked that monopoly of energy markets previously gave ample leeway for profiteering to officials in charge, especially in the fields of power, petroleum, and coal.

The administration's department of coal for instance, has absolute say over the fate of enterprises and businesspeople intending to foray into the coal-mining business.

Insiders also said that the current crackdown on energy officials is in large part a ripple effect of the corruption scandal at China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

Related Article:

CCTV executive disappears, colleagues told not to contact again