TobaccoReporter logo

Tag: stma

  • China’s STMA Gets New Deputy Director

    China’s STMA Gets New Deputy Director

    China’s State Council announced numerous appointments and removals September 20, including naming Zhang Xiaotang as deputy director of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA). The STMA has also listed Zhang as a member of its Party leadership group and deputy director.

    Zhang, who holds an MBA and is a senior accountant, served as Party secretary and general manager of Hebei China Tobacco Industry Co. since November 2022. He previously held positions in the STMA’s financial management and supervision department, serving as deputy director from December 2018 and director from November 2019. Yao Laiying was appointed STMA director in April 2026.

  • Another Top China Tobacco Regulator Under Investigation

    Another Top China Tobacco Regulator Under Investigation

    Han Zhanwu, deputy director and Party Leadership Group member of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), is under investigation for suspected “serious violations of Party disciplinary rules and laws,” the country’s top anti-graft bodies announced yesterday (October 12). The probe is being conducted by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission. Han, 59, has been out of the public eye for nearly a month, with his last public appearance during a research trip to Jiangsu province in early September.

    Han, the highest-ranking deputy director at STMA, has previously held senior positions including Director and Party Secretary of the China National Machinery & Equipment Tendering Corporation and leadership roles within the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. He took up his current post at the STMA in April 2020. The administration, directly under the State Council, regulates China’s vast tobacco sector.

    Han’s investigation continues a broader anti-corruption campaign in China’s tobacco system that began in 2021. More than 10 officials have been probed to date, including six current or former STMA leaders. Notably, Ling Chengxing, former Party Secretary and Director, received a 16-year sentence in May 2025 for bribery and abuse of power, while Deputy Director Xu Lin was reported under investigation in May this year.

  • Former STMA Deputy Prosecuted for Bribery

    Former STMA Deputy Prosecuted for Bribery

    Image: Kampan

    Former Deputy Chief of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) He Zehua has been prosecuted for accepting bribes, according to China Daily.

    Zehua was accused of taking advantage of his former positions to seek profits for others, accepting a large amount of money and valuables in return, according to a statement by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.

    Zehua was arrested in July.

  • Former China Monopoly Leader Arrested

    Former China Monopoly Leader Arrested

    Image: Bonsales

    He Zehua, former deputy chief of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, has been arrested on charges of alleged bribe taking, reports China Daily.

    The Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Liaoning Provincial People’s Procuratorate ordered the arrest. His case was investigated by the National Commission of Supervision.

  • Guidelines for Exported Vapes

    Guidelines for Exported Vapes

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration released the Guidelines for Promoting the Building of Quality Assurance Systems for Exported Electronic Cigarette Products on July 20, according to 2Firsts, which published a translated version of the release.

    The guidelines consist of 18 articles covering the following:

    1. clarifying that enterprises are the main responsible entities for the building of quality assurance management systems for exported electronic cigarette products;
    2. specifying the main content for the building of quality assurance management systems for exported processes, allocation of production resources, the establishment of sound systems, standardization of product packaging, traceability of logistics and transportation, and export declaration and registration requirements; and
    3. specifying the requirements for the building of quality assurance management systems for exported electronic cigarette products. 
  • China Companies Crack Down on Nepotism

    China Companies Crack Down on Nepotism

    Photo: David Carillet

    Several subsidiaries of China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) have stated that close relatives of employees in leadership positions should not be hired in order to prevent nepotism and ensure fairness, reports China Daily.

    A notice from the Shandong Tobacco Monopoly Administration stated that new college graduates who are spouses or immediate family members of company leaders should not be employed. It also stated that relatives within three generations and those related by marriage should not be hired.

    Tobacco monopoly administrations in Shanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, Henan and Yunnan released similar notices this year.

    As China’s economic recovery loses momentum, more graduates are opting for stable jobs at state-owned enterprises, making competition for such positions more intense. Online citizens said that preventing close relatives of workers at these enterprises from being hired would create a more fair employment environment, and they called for more transparent hiring practices.

    The STMA implemented restrictions on nepotism in job hiring in 2020 while the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued requirements in 2019 to prevent nepotism in government institutions.

    There have been frequent reports of nepotism in state-owned enterprises in the finance, telecommunications, electric power and tobacco sectors, according to a 2020 Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Commission of Supervision release.