China Merchants Group Limited

China Merchants Group Limited is a diversified conglomerate whose main business segments are transport and logistics, comprehensive finance, real estate and industrial parks, and science and technology-driven industries. Headquartered in Hong Kong, it is one of the earliest Chinese-funded enterprises established and operating in Hong Kong, has a history of more than a century, and is a key state-owned enterprise under central management. As of 2026, the group’s chairman was Miao Jianmin. Born in January 1965, Miao Jianmin holds a doctorate from the Central University of Finance and Economics and a master’s degree from the Financial Research Institute of the People’s Bank of China, and concurrently serves as chairman of China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd. Earlier in his career he served successively as executive director and deputy general manager of China Insurance (Holdings) Company Limited in Hong Kong and as vice chairman and president of China Life Insurance (Group) Company, and later became chairman of The People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited. In July 2020, after two and a half years at the helm of PICC Group, Miao Jianmin moved to China Merchants Group as chairman, succeeding Li Jianhong, and concurrently became chairman of China Merchants Bank. The group has proposed and is pursuing a “third entrepreneurship”, with the goal of building a “world-class, innovation-driven, international and diversified enterprise”.

China Merchants has a long history, and the title of its head has evolved from general director to general manager, president of the board and chairman. On 27 May 1949, Yu Mei, head of the shipping department of the financial and economic takeover committee of the Shanghai Military Control Commission of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, led a takeover team into China Merchants (Shanghai head office) in the capacity of chief military representative; Yu Mei subsequently served as chairman of China Merchants until 1978. From 1978 to 1981, Zeng Sheng concurrently served as chairman of China Merchants; from 1981 to 1984, Peng Deqing was chairman; from 1985 to 1990, Qian Yongchang concurrently served as chairman of China Merchants Group; and from 1990 to August 1999, Huang Zhendong concurrently served as chairman of China Merchants Group Limited. From August 1999 to January 2001, Liu Songjin was chairman of China Merchants Group Limited. From January 2001, Qin Xiao served as chairman of China Merchants Group Limited and chairman of China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd., until his retirement in August 2010. From August 2010 to April 2014, Fu Yuning was chairman of China Merchants Group Limited, during which time he also served as chairman of China Merchants Bank, China Merchants Shekou Industrial Zone Co., Ltd. and China Nanshan Development (Group) Co., Ltd., as well as chairman of China Merchants Holdings (International) Co., Ltd. and a member of the Hong Kong Port Development Board, among other posts. Fu Yuning was among the first batch of government-sponsored students sent abroad after reform and opening up; he obtained a doctorate in the UK, returned to China in 1988 and joined China Nanshan Group, and was transferred to China Merchants Group in 1998. By his own account, during the Asian financial crisis the group’s diversification strategy was chaotic and its organisational structure loose and bloated, causing serious liquidity problems; the group then redrew its industrial policy, focused on three core businesses of ports, real estate and banking, and gradually defused its financial risks. According to reports, during the 2008 financial crisis he led the group in acquiring a number of high-quality overseas ports at low prices, placing the group among the world’s leading integrated port service providers. From July 2014 to July 2020, Li Jianhong was chairman of China Merchants Group Limited and chairman of China Merchants Bank; before that, from August 2010 to July 2014, he had been president and a director of China Merchants Group Limited.

According to Caixin, the group’s operating revenue in 2025 was 882.2 billion yuan, its profit 228 billion yuan and its net profit 187.9 billion yuan, with total assets of 15.6 trillion yuan at year-end; it has been rated grade A in the operating performance assessment of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council for 21 consecutive years. In his New Year message of 31 December 2025, Miao Jianmin said that the group’s results grew against the trend that year, its core indicators improved steadily, and total profit held above 220 billion yuan and set a new record, more than 30% higher than at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period. The message said that in transport and logistics the group worked to make industrial and supply chains run more smoothly; in comprehensive finance it concentrated on the “five major articles” and provided financial support to the real economy; in real estate and industrial parks it built “good housing” and operated “good parks”; and in science and technology-driven industries it developed new quality productive forces in ways suited to each enterprise, promoting the integration of technological and industrial innovation. The group’s subsidiary China Merchants Bank is the leader among national joint-stock banks, with total assets exceeding 13 trillion yuan at the end of 2025, accounting for more than 80% of the group’s assets.

In terms of regional presence, the group is rooted in Hong Kong and serves the development of the “three centres and one hub”, while integrating into the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and serving major national regional strategies; at the same time it works with global partners to take part in high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, with business and cooperation spanning Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa.

The group’s financial segment is coordinated and managed by its wholly owned subsidiary China Merchants Financial Holdings Co., Ltd. Formerly the financial division within China Merchants, China Merchants Financial Holdings was formally established in Qianhai, Shenzhen, in September 2022, becoming the third financial holding company approved by the People’s Bank of China after CITIC Financial Holdings and Beijing Financial Holdings. Under the regulatory definition, about 670 significant institutions are included in its risk consolidation or are equity-held by it, with businesses covering banking, securities, funds, insurance, fintech and diversified finance such as financial leasing, non-performing asset management and direct investment; its main members include China Merchants Bank, CMS, Bosera Funds, China Merchants Renhe Life, CMB Financial Leasing, China Merchants Ping An Asset Management and China Merchants Capital. On a consolidated basis, China Merchants Financial Holdings recorded operating revenue of 507.5 billion yuan, profit of 190.65 billion yuan and net profit of 160.28 billion yuan in 2024; by the end of 2024, its combined assets totalled 13 trillion yuan and its assets under management (AUM) exceeded 23 trillion yuan. Miao Jianmin concurrently serves as chairman of China Merchants Financial Holdings.

According to a 2026 Caixin report citing the China Merchants website, the group’s management team includes general manager Shi Dai; directors Li Yongming and Gong Liyun; deputy general managers Deng Renjie, Feng Boming, Song Rong and Jiang Tiefeng; and chief accountant Wu Bo. In the financial segment, as of April 2026, Wang Xiaoqing was Party secretary and general manager of China Merchants Financial Holdings. Born in October 1971, Wang Xiaoqing is a doctoral graduate in political economy from Fudan University and also holds an MBA from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and he has held posts in banking, securities, regulation, insurance, funds and financial holding companies. He worked for many years at PICC Asset Management, serving successively as assistant president and vice president from August 2007 to March 2020. In March 2020, Wang Xiaoqing became general manager of China Merchants Fund; from 5 June 2021 he was chairman of China Merchants Fund, from September of that year he was concurrently chairman of China Merchants Cigna Life Insurance, and from October of that year he was assistant president of China Merchants Bank, while also serving as chairman of China Merchants Fund, China Merchants Cigna Life Insurance and China Merchants Cigna Asset Management. From January 2023 he was appointed vice president of China Merchants Bank, and from February of that year he concurrently served as president of China Merchants Bank’s Shenzhen branch. On 25 June 2025, he was elected an executive director of China Merchants Bank by the shareholders’ meeting, and after former vice president Zhu Jiangtao was transferred to become chairman of CMS, he was promoted to first-ranked vice president. On 4 August 2025, China Merchants Bank announced that Wang Xiaoqing had resigned as vice president for work reasons, effective that day; at the same time he also stepped down as chairman of China Merchants Fund, and was then transferred to become Party secretary and general manager of China Merchants Financial Holdings. According to a Caixin report in April 2026, Wang Xiaoqing may be given a more important role and is expected to move up further within the China Merchants Group system; his specific position has yet to be determined, and the related matters are still going through the process.

The group has designated 2026 as a crucial year for comprehensively accelerating the “third entrepreneurship” and speeding up the building of a world-class enterprise. Miao Jianmin said in his New Year message that in the new year the group would focus on serving the overall national development agenda, promote the deep integration of “technology, industry and finance”, and enhance its core competitiveness and international influence through technological innovation, digital and intelligent transformation and business model upgrading.