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Cao Li

The top executive of Wuliangye Yibin – China’s second-largest liquor producer – has come under investigation for suspected corruption.
Zeng Congqin, 57, chairman and party secretary of the state-owned liquor giant, is suspected of serious violations of party discipline and law – a typical reference to corruption – the provincial anti-corruption body, Sichuan Discipline Inspection Commission, announced on Saturday night.
Zeng is being investigated by authorities in Yibin, a major city in the southwestern province where the group is based.
The Shenzhen-listed liquor maker said in an exchange filing on Saturday that Zeng was being held and that the firm had received notices from authorities. The company said the matter would not have a major impact on its normal operations.
Zeng’s name has been removed from the leadership list on the Wuliangye Group website. His last appearance was at a group-level meeting on February 24, where he gave a speech and emphasised principles including safe production, anti-corruption integrity and risk prevention.

A native of Yibin, Zeng started his career working in various posts in local counties and townships before rising to district party secretary in the city and joining Wuliangye Yibin in 2019 as deputy party secretary.
In 2022, Zeng became party secretary, replacing Li Shuguang, who was put under anti-corruption investigation in January 2025. Li, placed under judicial procedure nine months later, will be prosecuted and tried.
Zeng is the latest high-profile official brought down by China’s anti-corruption campaign, part of which has targeted the liquor sector.
In January 2025, Kweichow Moutai’s chairman Ding Xiongjun was placed under investigation, following two former chairmen of the company, Yuan Renguo and Gao Weidong, in 2019 and 2022. Both later received life sentences.
In 2025, Beijing imposed a ban on excessive banquets, at which liquor is often consumed. The ban had a serious impact on liquor makers like Kweichow Moutai and Wuliangye Yibin, both of which reported the lowest growth in revenue and profit in a decade.
For the third quarter of 2025, Wuliangye Yibin’s revenue fell 53 per cent to 8.2 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) and its net profit attributable to shareholders fell 66 per cent to 2 billion yuan.
The ban has worried many institutional investors. In a survey last July by Goldman Sachs, mutual funds, private equity funds and asset managers said they were worried that it could hamper Beijing’s effort to boost consumption and the broader economy.
Also on Saturday night, China’s top anti-corruption body, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, announced that Han Song, vice-general manager of state conglomerate China Resources (Holdings), was suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law. He had voluntarily surrendered and was currently under investigation.


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Wuliangye Yibin’s Zeng Congqin is the latest high-profile figure targeted as Beijing’s anti-corruption drive intensifies in liquor sector


Wuliangye Yibin’s Zeng Congqin is the latest high-profile figure targeted as Beijing’s anti-corruption drive intensifies in liquor sector.


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Chairman of China’s second-largest liquor producer under corruption probe

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Wuliangye Yibin’s Zeng Congqin is the latest high-profile figure targeted as Beijing’s anti-corruption drive intensifies in liquor sector

Wuliangye Yibin’s Zeng Congqin is the latest high-profile figure targeted as Beijing’s anti-corruption drive intensifies in liquor sector