In less than a month, between mid-February and mid-March, at least three senior executives of state-owned enterprises and four senior provincial-level officials died of the illness in China.
Ren Chuanjun, a former Party Committee member and deputy general manager of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), died of illness on March 10 at the age of 79. As deputy general manager of a large state-owned enterprise, his official rank is vice minister.
