Hongsheng Group Management Shakeup Continues: HR Chief Removed After Just Ten Months as Zong Fuli’s Inner Circle Faces Ongoing Reshuffle

Hongsheng Group’s core management is once again in turmoil. On August 25, multiple sources confirmed to media outlets that Kou Jing, head of the group’s human resources department, had been removed from her position and reassigned back to section chief of employee relations within the same department. The executive, widely regarded by outside observers as one of Zong Fuli’s most trusted lieutenants, was returned to her former post just ten months after her promotion—making her yet another core management member to exit the Hongsheng orbit in the past six months.

According to internal appointment documents obtained by Red Star News, Jiemian News, and other media outlets, Liu Xiaojing, former deputy general manager of Weifang Company, will succeed Kou Jing as HR chief. As of press time, neither Hongsheng Group nor Wahaha has issued an official response to the personnel change.

Public records show that Kou Jing’s career trajectory closely tracked Zong Fuli’s consolidation of power. In October 2025, she was promoted from section chief of employee relations to head of the HR department. The following month, after Zong Fuli stepped down as chairman of Wahaha Group, Kou was swiftly elevated to supervisor at Wahaha. In June 2026, she was further transitioned from supervisor to board director, entering the core decision-making circle. At the time, the market broadly viewed her as part of Zong Fuli’s inner circle. Her abrupt demotion just two months later came as a surprise to many.

Beyond Kou Jing, the reshuffle also involved other positions. Dong Fajiu, deputy general manager of Jining Company, was transferred to serve as deputy general manager of Weifang Company, while Yi Pingyuan was newly appointed as section chief of performance management in the HR department.

No official explanation has been provided for the dismissals, but multiple interpretations are circulating in the market. An industry insider close to Wahaha told media that Hongsheng Group has recently lost a significant number of labor disputes with employees, with compensation payouts remaining high—making the HR department the primary target for accountability. This account aligns with commentary in some employee communities, where many voices have pointed to HR as the enforcer of earlier salary cuts and layoffs.

In fact, this is not the first time Hongsheng Group has experienced a concentrated shakeup of core executives. In May 2026, the group underwent an even broader round of personnel changes spanning four key business divisions:

Even earlier, in November 2025, Zhu Lidan, the former legal representative of Hongsheng Group, had already stepped down. Combined with Kou Jing’s latest reassignment, the senior leadership team under Zong Fuli’s control has now undergone multiple rounds of restructuring.

Behind the personnel turbulence lies a confluence of pressures facing Zong Fuli. On the family inheritance dispute front, the Hong Kong High Court on July 21 rejected Zong Fuli’s application for leave to appeal, upholding a freeze order on approximately $1.8 billion in assets held by Jianhao Venture Capital. The final ownership of these assets still awaits adjudication by the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. Meanwhile, Zong Qinghou’s three children born out of wedlock have also made moves on the business front—in early August, Zong Jichang registered a food company in Hangzhou, a signal that intra-family competition is extending into industrial operations.

On the business strategy front, Zong Fuli is accelerating Hongsheng Group’s decoupling from the Wahaha brand. Since resigning from all Wahaha Group positions in September 2025, she has shifted her focus to Hongsheng Group, which she wholly owns. More than 20 former Wahaha-affiliated companies have completed name changes, and brands under her umbrella have progressively removed Wahaha branding. In April 2026, Shanghai Hongqian Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. was established as a new commercial headquarters to expand into food technology, cross-border trade, and other businesses—an attempt to build an industrial system independent of Wahaha.

From the successive departures in core positions to the step-by-step disentanglement of business operations from the old system, Hongsheng’s transformation shows no signs of slowing. Whether these waves of personnel upheaval represent the growing pains of internal realignment or the opening moves of a larger strategic plan remains difficult to determine at this stage.