Who is Huang Qifan? Chinese politician and former Chongqing mayor reportedly under investigation for corruption

Huang Qifan is a former mayor of Chongqing Municipality, in Southwest China. Huang Qifan spent years navigating political scandals that brought down two powerful figures in China. On the contrary, he is apparently under investigation himself. He is currently being investigated for "serious disciplinary and legal violations." The Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection was investigating Huang, as per China’s state news agency Xinhua. He was reportedly a former associate of disgraced top Chinese Communist Party member Bo Xilai, as per a report by South China Morning Post.

Who is Huang Qifan

For his deep understanding of economic statistics and financial policy, he earned the nickname "financial mayor." Huang Qifan earned fame for his economic expertise and his role in Chongqing’s rapid growth. He also remained in public for quite a long time after leaving the mayor’s office.


He was also unusually vocal about decisions made by China’s financial regulators. After leaving senior office, Huang continued to speak publicly about the country’s economy, property market and financial reforms. He warned that China’s property market had reached a turning point back in 2022 and questioned whether the country could keep up its decades-long construction boom.

Huang also worked in Shanghai. He held various senior positions and was closely involved in developing Pudong. Later on he moved to Chongqing as vice mayor.

How did Huang survive Chongqing’s political scandals

Huang spent 15 years in the city working with six Chongqing party secretaries. Two of his bosses Bo Xilai and Sun Zhengcai later lost their positions because of corruption problems.

Bo was taken out in 2012, when he was becoming a political leader and part of the Politburo. Huang had once described their working relationship as being “like fish and water” in a 2010 interview.

Bo’s “Chongqing model” combined state control over land and development projects with a political campaign that promoted revolutionary songs from the Mao Zedong era. The approach raised concerns among China’s central leadership. A crackdown on crime in the municipality also led to numerous miscarriages of justice.

After Bo’s downfall, Huang distanced himself from his former boss. He criticised some of Bo’s projects as wasteful and backed the central leadership’s decision to remove him. Huang also gave written testimony against Bo, saying his decision to remove police chief Wang Lijun had not been approved by the Ministry of Public Security.

Huang faced another political test after Sun Zhengcai succeeded Bo. In 2014, reporters asked Huang whether he had a similarly harmonious relationship with Sun. He reportedly smiled without answering, prompting laughter.

Sun was removed from his position in July 2017 and later sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery. Huang, who had already stepped down as mayor, was not investigated at the time.

Why is the investigation significant

Huang’s investigation comes after years in which he remained a prominent voice on China’s economy. His reputation as a political survivor had endured even as former colleagues and associates came under scrutiny. Some officials linked to Bo were investigated years after his fall. Xu Ming, a former party secretary of Chongqing’s Liangjiang New Area, was investigated in 2021, three years after retiring. Xu had followed Bo to Chongqing in 2008 after working with him at the Ministry of Commerce.

Huang had been scheduled to deliver two lectures this month. The investigation now places the former mayor, long known for his economic commentary and political resilience, under scrutiny himself.