The chairman of Wuliangye, one of China’s most valuable liquor makers, has been placed under investigation, injecting fresh uncertainty into a company already wrestling with a sharp industry downturn. On February 28 the Sichuan provincial anti‑corruption account “Lianjie Sichuan” reported that Zeng Congqin, party secretary and chairman of Sichuan Yibin Wuliangye Group Co. and chairman of Yibin Wuliangye Co., is suspected of serious discipline and law violations and is under review by the Yibin municipal discipline inspection and supervisory commission.
Zeng’s fall from grace comes six years after he crossed from roles in local government into Wuliangye’s executive ranks in 2019, and three years after he assumed the group’s top job in February 2022. Before joining the firm he spent more than three decades in Yibin’s municipal apparatus, running resource development, pricing, energy and development and reform departments and serving as party secretary of Cuiping district and the Lingang economic zone.
The timing amplifies the shock. Zeng led Wuliangye through a difficult four‑year stretch (2022–2025) when the Chinese baijiu market moved from a post‑pandemic rebound into a deep adjustment. While 2022 and 2023 still delivered double‑digit revenue and profit growth and record dividends, 2024 signalled deceleration: revenue growth slowed to 7.09% and net profit growth to 5.44%. The pain intensified in 2025 when the company reported double‑digit declines through the first three quarters.
The third quarter of 2025 was particularly bruising. Wuliangye’s single‑quarter revenue plunged to 8.174 billion yuan, down 52.66% year‑on‑year, and attributable net profit collapsed to 2.019 billion yuan, a 65.62% fall. Those drops outpaced the industry average and allowed rival Shanxi Fenjiu to overtake Wuliangye in both revenue and profit. Analysts polled by data provider Tonghuashun estimate full‑year 2025 net profit at about 265.59 亿元 (≈26.56 billion yuan), a decline of roughly 16.6% from the prior year.
Structural pressures in China’s liquor market help explain the slump. Government procurement curbs and a contraction in business and banquet spending have depressed demand for high‑end baijiu. On the distribution side, the wholesale price of Wuliangye’s core eighth‑generation “Pu‑Wu” briefly fell below 800 yuan a bottle, well under the factory price of 1,019 yuan, squeezing distributor margins and undermining dealer confidence. Management has pursued channel rationalisation, product‑mix optimisation and a stronger brand push — and has even signalled outward expansion — but these strategies have yet to restore growth.
Wuliangye’s board responded on the evening of February 28 by saying other directors and senior managers continue to perform their duties, that production and operations are normal, and that the company has made appropriate arrangements for day‑to‑day management. The group’s market capitalisation stood at 4,038 亿元 (≈403.8 billion yuan) at the close of trading on February 27, underscoring how much is at stake for investors.
The investigation also echoes earlier probes: Zeng is the latest in senior Wuliangye leadership to face scrutiny after former chairman Li Shuguang. For market participants and state managers alike the episode raises familiar questions about corporate governance at large state‑influenced enterprises, the breadth of anti‑corruption scrutiny and the extent to which regulatory risk is now a material factor for major consumer brands. Who will steer Wuliangye through the current industry chill is the immediate question; longer‑term, the case may accelerate boardroom and distribution reforms at China’s flagship distillers.