PRC Government Praises Hikvision For Following Xi Jinping

Published Sep 17, 2018 14:56 PM
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The PRC government council responsible for managing China's state-owned companies praised Hikvision’s obedience to China’s authoritarian leader Xi Jinping and the Communist Party at a recent meeting at Hikvision’s headquarters.

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The comments came at a meeting on September 12 when officials from SASAC (State Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission) visited Hikvision at its main office in Hangzhou, China.

Who is SASAC?

SASAC is the main government entity responsible for directing China’s many state-owned companies and is under direct control of China’s powerful State Council, the highest administrative organ within China’s one-party state.

SASAC: Hikvision’s Controlling Shareholder

SASAC is the ultimate owner of about 42% of Hikvision via the China Electronics Technology Group and the 52nd Institute, both of which are fully owned by SASAC and have been described by Hikvision as its “controlling shareholders”.

SASAC Team Meets Hikvision

The September 12 meeting was held by a SASAC team visiting Hikvision which is part of a government group tasked with reforming state-owned enterprises.

Xi Praised

At the meeting, SASAC vice chairman Weng Jiemeng strongly praised Hikvision’s innovation and growth and prominently cited Xi Jinping’s visit of Hikvision in May 2015 [link no longer available], saying Hikvision had stuck closely to his recommendations and “always remembers” his visit:

In the past three years, Hikvision has resolutely implemented the spirit of the important instructions from General Secretary Xi Jinping, and always remembers General Secretary Xi Jinping, [and] continuous reform, continuous innovation, and has achieved tangible results, gaining global market share in its industry for seven consecutive years [emphasis added]

Chinese Communist Party Praised

Jiemeng made further comments about the important role the Communist Party of China (CPC) plays within Hikvision.

Recall that Hikvision chairman Chen Zongnian, who is unknown in the West but frequently interviewed and cited within China, also heads Hikvision’s CPC cell and is a member of China’s National People’s Congress.

In terms of party building leadership, the party's leadership is integrated into the corporate governance structure, giving full play to the leadership role of the party committee and giving full play to the vanguard and exemplary role of party members [emphasis added]

We must work harder to strengthen party building and lead development, ensure party building leads the reform and development of companies, guide the selection of the correct people, and consolidate the foundation of party building within companies

Hikvision and PRC Government

The comments further show Hikvision’s direct ties to China’s one-party state and to its leader, Xi Jinping, making frequent references to his May 2015 visit. [link no longer available]

Xi Jinping is widely considered by China analysts to have consolidated power in his hands to a degree unheard of since Chairman Mao Zedong. In March it was announced all term limits to his position were removed, effectively enabling him to become “President for Life”.

US government officials have warned that under Xi’s administration, China has become the Number 1 espionage threat to the US – even above Russia.

Cause for Concern

Even by PRC standards, Hikvision’s ties to the state are strong. Dahua, for example, is privately owned.

Those ties are partly why Hikvision cameras were removed by the US military earlier this year and explained why the US government banned federal purchases of Hikvision equipment.

Dahua was also included in the ban and, in an obvious allusion to Hikvision, objected that it was not state owned.

Paragraphs Deleted

Hikvision’s close ties to the RPC government have led to intense scrutiny in the US and is spreading to places like Australia.

This may be a reason why the comments by Weng Jiemeng about Hikvision’s obedience to Xi Jinping were removed from SASAC’s original press release. IPVM save a cached original version as a PDF for proof.

This update came with no explanation. SASAC's comments about the Party’s influence within Hikvision were left unchanged.

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