Top Chinese map-making scientist Zhou Chenghu under investigation in anti-corruption sweep

SCMP - China’s leading cartographic scientist Zhou Chenghu – the former deputy director of the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) – is under investigation for corruption, the country’s top watchdog has confirmed.

Zhou is being investigated by central and local anti-corruption bodies for “suspected serious violations of duty”, according to a notice posted on Monday by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party’s highest internal disciplinary and supervisory body. The notice did not reveal any details of the allegations against Zhou.

On May 22, the Economic Observer, a weekly Chinese newspaper, cited “informed sources” as saying that the 62-year-old CAS academician had been taken away by disciplinary inspectors from the lobby of his research institute building in late April.

His personal details have since been removed from the list of academicians on the official CAS website.

Zhou’s primary research fields include spatial data mining, geographic systems modelling, hydrology and water resources, and the application of geographic information systems and remote sensing.

Born in 1964 in Jiangsu province, Zhou was admitted to the department of geography at Nanjing University for undergraduate studies at the age of 16.

After graduating, he entered the Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research in Beijing for postgraduate studies. Upon obtaining his master’s degree in 1987, he remained at the institute to begin his academic career, emerging as a rising star within the organisation.

At the age of 25, he received an exceptional promotion to associate researcher, and by 32 had become the director of a national key laboratory within his home institute. In 2013, aged 49, Zhou was elected an academician of the CAS.

Beyond his academic achievements, Zhou also built a vast business empire spanning the field of spatial data and sectors related to the low-altitude economy.
Public records show that Zhou had distinct links to more than 20 companies, holding shares in at least 17 of them.

One of his major ventures is Zhongke Yuntu, a national-level “little giant” enterprise – a designation for China’s fast-growing, small and medium-sized hi-tech firms specialising in niche markets.
Co-founded by Zhou in Guangzhou province in 2017, Zhongke Yuntu employs more than 200 people and aims to become “the world’s leading provider of low-altitude unstaffed systems and intelligent services”, according to its website.

Its business operations include satellite remote-sensing application system integration, geological exploration technical services and the sale of intelligent uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

According to the Economic Observer report, Zhou’s ties to numerous associated companies were “a possible driver” behind the investigation.

As Beijing elevates science and technology to a top national priority, it has unleashed a broad anti-corruption campaign across academia, aiming to dismantle entrenched power networks in universities and research institutions.
Recent cases include Zhang Yaoxue, the former president of Central South University in Changsha, Hunan province. He was expelled from the party and dismissed from public office on May 21, with his case subsequently transferred to prosecutors.

Zhang is a computer scientist and pioneer of network technology who led the development of China’s first network access router and was elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2007. He was placed under investigation in October amid allegations of “serious violations of discipline and law”.