Bai Tianhui, who served as general manager of China Huarong International Holdings (CHIH), was convicted of accepting more than $156 million in bribes between 2014 and 2018. According to media reports, he offered favourable terms on project acquisitions and financing in exchange for payments.
CHIH operates under China Huarong Asset Management, one of the country’s biggest funds specializing in bad-debt management. The company has been a central target of President Xi Jinping’s long-running anti-corruption campaign.
The firm’s former chairman, Lai Xiaomin, was executed in January 2021 after being found guilty of receiving $253 million in bribes. Multiple other Huarong executives have also faced corruption probes.
In most corruption cases in China, death sentences are issued with a two-year reprieve and are often later reduced to life imprisonment. Bai’s penalty, however, was not suspended.
A Tianjin court first sentenced him in May 2024. He appealed, but the ruling was upheld in February. After reviewing the case, the Supreme People’s Court confirmed the execution, calling Bai’s actions “extremely serious” and citing “exceptionally significant losses” to state and public interests.
CCTV said Bai met close relatives before being put to death on Tuesday morning in Tianjin, though it did not disclose the method of execution.
China treats death penalty figures as state secrets. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International, estimate that the country executes thousands of people annually.
Bai’s case marks another high-profile sentencing amid intensified scrutiny of China’s finance sector. Former securities regulator chief Yi Huiman was placed under investigation in September. In March, ex-Everbright Group head Li Xiaopeng was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bribe-taking, and in November 2024, former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve for accepting 121 million yuan in bribes.
Supporters of Xi’s anti-graft drive argue that it strengthens accountability and clean governance, while critics contend it also allows the president to eliminate political opponents.
