Shangwei New Materials has told Chinese regulators that its chairman, Peng Zhihui, never participated in the company's research and development activities and that the firm's R&D operations are run independently by senior management. The rebuttal follows supervisory inquiries from the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which sought clarification about the chairman’s ties to a related robotics company and any potential overlap with Shangwei’s own technology projects.
The company argued that Peng is one of three external directors and, under the company constitution and Chinese Company Law, his remit is to chair the board, set strategic direction and supervise management rather than to undertake day-to-day operational duties. Shangwei identified its joint CEO and CTO, Zhou Bin, as the executive with full responsibility for planning, executing and managing all R&D projects, including work in embodied-intelligence robotics, and said R&D teams report directly to him.
Peng’s concurrent role at an affiliated firm, Zhiyuan Robot, appears to be the focus of market and regulator concern; to head off misunderstandings Shangwei said Peng will follow a ‘‘prudential’’ approach in external communications and marketing to preserve clear lines between his different positions. The company reiterated that it has an ‘‘independent, well-defined R&D management system’’ and that no conflict of interest has occurred, while promising to strengthen governance to protect the company’s operational independence.
The episode sits at the intersection of two familiar pressures on Chinese-listed technology and manufacturing firms: growing regulatory scrutiny of related‑party relationships, and investor sensitivity to governance risks that could imperil intellectual property, commercial partnerships or shareholder value. For now Shangwei’s response is a defensive clarification; the more material consequences will hinge on whether regulators seek further evidence, demand governance changes or pursue penalties if they find breaches of disclosure or independence rules.