Former defense firm executive sentenced to 13 years for bribery
chinadaily.com.cn, April 16, 2026 Adjust font size:
Liu Weidong, former deputy general manager of China South Industries Group Corp, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined 4 million yuan ($586,800) on Tuesday by a court in Henan province for bribery.
Liu's illicit gains and related interests were also ordered to be confiscated and turned over to the State treasury, according to the ruling made by the Nanyang Intermediate People's Court.
The court found after an investigation that Liu, from 1999 to 2025, took advantage of positions, including deputy general manager of Dongfeng Motor Corp and deputy general manager of China South Industries Group Corp, to seek benefits for relevant departments and individuals in various matters such as business operations and job promotions. In return, he accepted bribes worth over 41.39 million yuan.
The court said that Liu has constituted the crime of bribery and should be harshly punished because of the "extremely large" amount of the bribes. However, it decided to give him leniency in sentencing, considering he confessed to the crime, voluntarily reported some bribery facts unknown to investigators, and actively turned over his illegal gains.
Public information shows that the 59-year-old native of Hubei province started his career in the automobile industry after graduating from Wuhan University of Technology in his hometown. He worked for Dongfeng Motor Corp, a State-owned automobile giant in Hubei, for years, and became its deputy general manager in 2001.
In May 2018, he moved to China South Industries Group Corp, one of the country's major defense contractors and also one of the biggest Chinese carmakers, serving as its deputy general manager. In February 2025, he was placed under investigation for alleged serious violations of Party disciplines and national laws. In July that year, he was expelled from the Communist Party of China and removed from public office. He was indicted on charges of bribery in November, and the court publicly heard the case at the beginning of this year.