China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong has not been seen in public for two months, and this has raised a lot of eyebrows as well as sparked speculations regarding his location. Since late December, Jin missed crucial government meetings and public functions, which had people wondering why he was absent.
Reports from the Financial Times show that before he went missing, Jin was busy doing government business, attending meetings, speaking to the press, and joining Premier Li Qiang on several tours. His unexplained absence from the public eye has prompted rumors from personal troubles to possible involvement in anti-corruption probes, a situation far from unusual for Chinese officials who disappear without warning.
People familiar with the case say Jin can find himself in the sights of China’s anti-graft watchdog, an agency that has been central to President Xi Jinping’s unprecedented anti-graft drive. The crackdown, which has accelerated since Xi took office over a decade ago, has resulted in 889,000 officials being arrested last year—a staggering 46 percent increase from the year before and the most in a decade.
Jin has already been in the limelight for his time as chairman of state-owned aircraft manufacturer Comac, where he was instrumental in developing the C919, China’s first indigenous passenger jet. His achievement in the aviation sector has turned him into a big shot in the business.
After his victory in Comac, he was appointed deputy director at China’s central military-civil fusion office, before his appointment as a minister in 2022 to take the place of Xiao Yaqing, who was removed while under investigation over corruption.
Jin’s last recorded public appearance took place on December 27, where he chaired a meeting extolling Xi’s new industrialization strategy. Since then, he has missed several critical engagements, including meetings with top officials in January and a session with the State Council in February. As the situation unfolds, questions surrounding Jin’s whereabouts and the implications for the Chinese tech sector remain pressing.
