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China names new chief to lead rocket maker and SpaceX rival CASC after predecessor stripped of political title
- Chen Mingbo, hailed by media as ‘technical-minded official’, is appointed head of CASC, which positions itself as competitor of Elon Musk’s company
- He takes over from Wu Yansheng, who has not attended company meetings since losing his seat on China’s top political advisory body in December
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Ling Xinin Ohio
China’s main space programme contractor now has a new helmsman, marking another major leadership change in the country’s aerospace-defence sector.
Chen Mingbo had been appointed the chairman and Communist Party secretary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the company said on its official WeChat account on Friday.
CASC has named Elon Musk’s SpaceX as its main competitor. The two companies launched more rockets than any others last year, with SpaceX maintaining a significant lead.
The decision to appoint Chen, made by the party’s Central Committee, was announced by representatives from the committee’s Organisation Department during a meeting attended by the company’s mid-level to-high-ranking management, CASC said.
Chen took over from Wu Yansheng, who chaired CASC from 2018 to 2023. Wu’s seat on China’s top political advisory body was revoked in December, and he has not shown up to company meetings since then.
CASC is China’s main builder of rockets and missile systems. Observers said the appointment might be a sign of Beijing’s anti-corruption efforts in its pursuit of better rocket and military capacity.
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