Huawei Cloud CEO Zhang Ping’an demoted after internal probe into fabricated cloud business data

Key Points

Quick summary — Huawei Cloud CEO Zhang Ping’an demoted

The Cloud BU shakeup at Huawei (Huawei 华为) centers on an internal probe that found fabricated cloud-business data and economic misconduct.

Zhang Ping’an (Zhang Ping’an 张平安), the CEO of Huawei Cloud (Huawei Cloud 华为云) and head of the Cloud Business Group (Cloud BU), was demoted three grades, had his salary adjusted down to the upper bound of his new grade, and received a serious warning.

Several other senior Cloud BU leaders were also punished with two-grade demotions or other penalties for management failures tied to the same probe.

Who was disciplined and why — accountability in the Cloud BU

The disciplinary actions were announced internally and confirmed to multiple reporters by Huawei insiders.

The company’s internal Discipline Inspection Committee issued handling opinions concerning the Cloud BU for problems identified in the unit’s submitted materials related to falsified cloud business performance and economic misbehavior.

• Zhang Ping’an (Zhang Ping’an 张平安) — demoted three grades, salary reduced to the upper bound of the new grade, and given a serious warning.
• Zhang Yuxin (Zhang Yuxin 张宇昕) — Minister/Head of the Cloud Services Product Department; demoted two grades for inadequate management.
• Shi Jilin (Shi Jilin 石冀琳) — President, Global Marketing and Sales Services of Huawei Cloud; demoted two grades for management lapses.
• Kang Ning (Kang Ning 康宁) — Head of the Global Ecosystem Department, Cloud BU; demoted two grades for management failures.

Insiders told reporters the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy for fabrication, so the disciplinary actions were framed as consistent with that stance.

Scope of accountability — this is a multi-level, top-down probe

The probe and resulting punishments were not limited to the top-named executives.

Multiple managers across different layers of the Cloud BU also received penalties as part of a top-down accountability process.

Recent reorganization and scale of impact — big structural changes

On August 22, 2025, Zhang Ping’an issued an internal notice announcing a large-scale consolidation and elimination of lower-level Cloud BU organizations.

The reorganization targeted core teams including the Product Department, Public Cloud Services Department, and R&D teams.

The adjustment reportedly involved the merger or removal of dozens of lower-level departments and could affect on the order of thousands of employees.

Company messaging framed the change as a focus exercise, with Huawei Cloud shifting to a “3+2+1” product and services set that includes:

• general/unified computing (通算)
• intelligent computing (智算)
• storage
• AI PaaS
• databases
• security services

Huawei Cloud stated the reorganization emphasizes hardware-software synergy and architecture innovation and that it will shift more resources into the AI and compute industries.

Market context — Q1 2025 China cloud infrastructure spend and market share

Huawei Cloud operates in a highly competitive Chinese cloud market.

Reports cite industry data showing cloud infrastructure spend in mainland China for Q1 2025 reached approximately ¥83.5 billion RMB ($11.6 billion USD), up about 16% year-over-year.

According to Canalys figures cited in reporting:

• Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun 阿里云) held roughly 33% market share in mainland China in Q1 2025, with year-over-year revenue growth of about 15%.
• Huawei Cloud held roughly 18% market share in the same period, with year-over-year revenue growth of approximately 18%.

Reports also noted Alibaba Cloud’s AI-related workloads as a major growth driver, delivering triple-digit growth for seven consecutive quarters.

Public response and next steps — governance, cost-cutting, and repositioning

As of publication, neither Huawei (Huawei 华为) corporate nor the Huawei Cloud Business Unit issued a public statement responding to the media reports about the disciplinary actions.

Internally, employees and market commentators have debated Huawei Cloud’s competitiveness and its reliance on outsourcing for some technical work.

The combination of public discipline and simultaneous reorganization signals Huawei is tightening governance and refocusing its cloud strategy amid intense competition and growing AI-driven cloud demand.

What this means for customers, partners, and investors

Immediate operational impact for customers and partners may be limited if service levels are maintained during the transition.

However, leadership changes and consolidation typically mean a period of transition that can affect product roadmaps and partnership models.

Huawei’s stated intent to prioritize AI PaaS, databases, and compute infrastructure suggests partners should expect shifting priorities and potential consolidation of product lines.

For investors, the discipline and reorganization signal a focus on governance and execution, but also a short-term risk window as teams and leaders change.

Key takeaways — concise investor and operator checklist

• Governance matters: Fabrication of business data triggered top-level discipline.
• Leadership reset: Zhang Ping’an demoted three grades and others were demoted two grades.
• Reorg scale: Thousands of roles may be affected in the Cloud BU.
• Product focus: Huawei Cloud is consolidating around compute, AI PaaS, storage, databases, and security.
• Market context: Q1 2025 cloud infra spend ~ ¥83.5 billion RMB ($11.6 billion USD); Huawei Cloud ~18% market share; Alibaba Cloud ~33% market share.

How founders and partners should respond

Monitor service-level announcements and product roadmaps closely during the transition.

Re-evaluate vendor dependency if you rely heavily on Huawei Cloud for critical infrastructure or outsourced technical work.

Look for signals of renewed investment in AI and compute capabilities that could open collaboration or migration opportunities.

How investors should think about this

Consider governance improvements as a potential positive for long-term execution, while recognizing near-term operational risks from leadership turnover and restructuring.

Track market-share movements in upcoming Canalys and industry reports to see how Huawei Cloud’s refocus translates into revenue and customer retention.

Final thought

The Huawei Cloud disciplinary episode is a reminder that strong internal controls and transparent reporting matter as much as product innovation in cloud competition.

Huawei Cloud CEO Zhang Ping’an demoted

References

• Original report on Huawei Cloud disciplinary actions – The Paper
• Q1 2025 China cloud infrastructure spend and market-share context – Canalys
• Huawei official newsroom and corporate site – Huawei