Ling Chengxing

Ling Chengxing (born October 1957) is a former Chinese politician who spent most of his career in his home-province Jiangxi. He was investigated by China's top anti-graft agency in October 2023. He has been retired for 5 years. Previously he served as director of China Tobacco.

He was a representative of the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. He was a delegate to the 12th National People's Congress.

Career
Ling was born in Shanggao County, Jiangxi, in October 1957. He joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in January 1977, and entered the workforce in December 1980.

He was appointed vice magistrate of Shanggao County in February 1984 and was admitted to member of the CCP Shanggao County Committee, the county's top authority. He was elevated to deputy party secretary and mayor of Fengcheng in March 1987.

He was made deputy director of the Jiangxi Provincial Economic Commission (later was reshuffled as Jiangxi Provincial Economic and Trade Commission) in August 1990 and subsequently director of the Jiangxi Provincial Tobacco Monopoly Bureau in August 1992. He became assistant to the governor of Jiangxi in July 1995, in addition to serving as director of the Jiangxi Provincial Economic Commission. He rose to become vice governor in December 2001, concurrently serving as director of Jiangxi Provincial State owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. He was promoted again to become executive vice governor in December that same year and was admitted to member of the CCP Jiangxi Provincial Committee, the province's top authority.

In May 2013, he was transferred to Beijing and appointed director and party group secretary of China Tobacco and general manager of China National Tobacco Corporation. He was also admitted to a member of the Party Group of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Downfall
On 23 October 2023, he was suspected of "serious violations of laws and regulations" by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party's internal disciplinary body, and the National Supervisory Commission, the highest anti-corruption agency of China. His deputies He Zehua and Zhao Hongshun  were sacked for graft. Zhao was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 2020.

On 22 April 2024, he was expelled from the CCP and dismissed from public office.

On 7 May 2024, the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced that it had arrested Ling Chengxing on suspicion of bribery and abuse of power.