Former State Grid Chairman Under Anti-Graft Investigation

China’s top anti-graft authorities have placed Xin Baoan, former chairman and Communist Party chief of State Grid Corp. of China, under investigation, deepening a corruption crackdown in the state-owned energy sector that has already ensnared his predecessor.

According to Caixin Global, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission announced on the evening of July 31 that Xin, 66, is suspected of “serious violations of discipline and law” and is undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation. The announcement came more than two years after Xin stepped down in March 2024, and no specific allegations have been disclosed.

Power-Sector Veteran

Xin led State Grid — the world’s largest utility, serving more than 1.1 billion people across 26 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities covering about 88 percent of China’s territory — from January 2021 to March 2024. Caixin reported that State Grid posted total assets of 6.2 trillion yuan (about $916 billion) and ranked third in the 2026 Fortune Global 500, with revenue above $555.3 billion.

A professor-level senior engineer, Xin was born in October 1960 in Huixian, Henan province. He studied electrical engineering at Xi’an Jiaotong University and earned a master’s degree in power system and automation from North China Electric Power University. He spent about 14 years at China Huadian Corp., rising to deputy general manager, before joining State Grid in late 2016 as deputy Party secretary and deputy general manager. He became general manager in December 2018 and was appointed chairman and Party secretary on January 18, 2021.

The investigation follows the sentencing of Xin’s predecessor, Kou Wei, who on April 1 was given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve by a court in Inner Mongolia for bribery, influence-peddling bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power. Court findings showed Kou accepted more than 154 million yuan in bribes between 1996 and 2024.

A Fall From the Award Stage

Xin remained active in industry bodies after leaving State Grid, serving as chairman of the China Electricity Council and chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization. On July 26, he delivered a keynote speech at an electric-power industry conference in Hangzhou — his last reported public appearance. The Paper reported that Xin was taken away by authorities that evening, after which rumors circulated within the industry.

Days earlier, on July 8, Xin was a main contributor to a project on flexible DC grid-forming technologies that won a First-Class National Science and Technology Progress Award for 2025. Chinese media later noted the contrast between his appearance on the award stage and the launch of the investigation barely three weeks later.

On August 1, State Grid’s Party Committee held a meeting chaired by current chairman Zhang Zhigang to convey the CCDI decision. Participants unanimously expressed firm support for the decision and pledged to strengthen integrity discipline, guarantee safe and reliable power supply, and complete annual targets.

Deeper Scrutiny of the Energy Sector

Xin’s case is part of a broader 2026 anti-corruption push in the power sector. Other State Grid-affiliated officials probed this year include Zhou Xiong, former Party secretary and chairman of State Grid Chongqing Electric Power; Lai Zhengtian, former deputy general manager of State Grid Information & Telecommunication Group; Lu Haiwei, former Party secretary and chairman of State Grid Heilongjiang Electric Power; and Liang Jian, former Party committee member and union chairman of State Grid Jiangxi Electric Power.

The timing is also significant for the energy transition. During Xin’s tenure, China’s combined installed wind and solar capacity grew from 530 million kilowatts in 2020 to 1.8 billion kilowatts by the end of 2025, overtaking coal-fired power capacity. A 2023 regulatory change imposed stricter caps on transmission and distribution tariffs for grid operators, reshaping the business environment for utilities at the center of China’s electrification drive.

What to Watch

The disciplinary review of a retired executive underscores that leaving office does not shield officials from scrutiny. With Kou Wei already sentenced and multiple State Grid system figures under investigation, the case suggests the anti-corruption campaign is reaching deeper into the institutions responsible for China’s power grid.

No details of the allegations against Xin have been made public. Observers will be watching for formal findings from the CCDI and for any signs that the investigation extends further into the energy sector, where the balance between regulatory control, investment incentives and clean-energy expansion is under constant pressure.