In China, Bai Tyanxuey, former CEO of China Huarong International Holdings Limited, who was convicted of bribery, was executed on December 9. This was reported by the country’s official Xinhua News Agency. The execution was carried out after the Supreme People's Court upheld the death sentence.
How did Bai Tyanxuey's case unfold?
The Intermediate Court in Tianjin sentenced Bai in May 2024 to:
- permanent deprivation of political rights,
- confiscation of all personal property,
- return of illicit gains to the state
along with the death penalty.
Bai appealed the decision, but in February 2025, the Tianjin High People's Court rejected the appeal, and the case was forwarded to the Supreme People's Court.
The scale of corruption and the gravity of the crime
During the review by the Supreme People's Court, it was revealed that Bai Tyanxuey abused his position from 2014 to 2018, assisting interested parties with various project financings and acquisitions in exchange for:
bribes amounting to 1.108 billion yuan (approximately 157 million USD).
The court assessed this as an "especially severe" crime, as:
- the amount of the bribes was extraordinarily large,
- the crimes caused significant harm to state interests,
- and the social consequences were highly negative.
In China, it is common for death sentences for corruption cases to be issued with a two-year reprieve, after which they are often commuted to life imprisonment if no violations occur during the probationary period. However, Bai’s case was deemed an exception.
Final meeting before the execution
Reports indicate that Bai Tyanxuey was allowed to meet with close relatives before the execution. This practice is considered standard procedure in cases involving the death penalty in China.
Death penalty practices remain in China
China continues to be one of the few countries worldwide that widely enforces the death penalty. The maximum sentence is applied for:
- murder,
- drug trafficking,
- major economic crimes
among other serious offenses. However, specific statistics regarding executions remain classified as a state secret.
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