Former Police Chief Referred for Prosecution in China Graft Case
China’s top anti-corruption agency has expelled former senior police official Bi Baowen from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and referred his case to prosecutors, marking the latest high-profile scalp in President Xi Jinping’s intensifying anti-graft campaign. Bi, 65, a former vice governor of Heilongjiang province and former head of its public-security department, was placed under investigation in November 2025, five years after his retirement.
Context
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on May 21 that Bi had been expelled from the party for “serious disciplinary and legal violations,” according to Caixin Global. His case has been transferred to prosecutors for criminal investigation and possible indictment, with all retirement benefits revoked and illicit gains confiscated.
Bi is the fourth senior public-security official to fall since the CCP’s 20th National Congress in October 2022, underscoring a targeted crackdown on corruption within law enforcement. The CCDI noted that Bi’s offenses were “particularly serious because he failed to restrain himself after the party’s 18th National Congress” — the launch point of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign in 2012.
Key Developments
According to the China News Service, Bi was accused of a wide range of misconduct, including accepting gifts and banquets that could have affected his official duties, taking money and valuables in personnel appointments, allowing relatives to use his influence for private gain, and illegally issuing motor-vehicle license plates. The CCDI statement said Bi “turned police powers into a tool for personal enrichment,” using his position to benefit others in case handling and project contracting in exchange for large sums of property.
Bi spent over four decades in the public security system, beginning his career in Shandong province in 1980 after graduating from the Shandong Provincial Public Security School. He rose through the ranks, serving as police chief of Rizhao and Binzhou before becoming deputy head of the Shandong Provincial Public Security Department in 2006. In May 2016, he was transferred to Heilongjiang — his first post outside Shandong — as head of the provincial public-security department, and was appointed vice governor in April 2017. He retired in August 2020.
Bi was one of three senior figures whose disciplinary penalties were announced on the same day, alongside Zhang Yaoxue, former president of Central South University, and Li Bai’an, former deputy general manager of China Merchants Group — a common practice in China’s anti-corruption campaign to demonstrate the breadth of the crackdown.
Analysis
Bi’s case carries particular significance for several reasons. First, it reinforces the CCP’s policy of “no safe haven” for corrupt officials, even after retirement — Bi was investigated five years after stepping down. Second, the case demonstrates the effectiveness of central inspection tours, as Bi’s investigation followed CCDI inspection teams visiting both Shandong and Heilongjiang provinces in 2025.
The broader anti-corruption campaign continues to intensify. According to the South China Morning Post, 2025 saw a record 65 high-ranking officials detained by China’s top anti-graft agency. So far in 2026, 23 centrally managed officials who fell under investigation have been disciplined and sent to judicial authorities.
The case also draws attention to the network of corruption in Heilongjiang’s political and legal system. The then-head of Heilongjiang’s political and legal affairs commission during Bi’s tenure, Gan Rongkun, was sentenced to life in prison in December 2023 for taking over 166 million yuan ($24.41 million) in bribes.
What’s Next
Bi Baowen now faces criminal prosecution, with a likely prison sentence given the severity of the charges. The CCDI statement did not specify the exact amount of bribes allegedly accepted, but the reference to “huge amounts of property” suggests significant sums. His case will be closely watched as a barometer of the anti-corruption campaign’s continued reach into law enforcement, and questions remain about whether other officials in Shandong or Heilongjiang may be implicated based on evidence gathered during the investigation.