China export firm executive being probed for graft

China is investigating an executive at the China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation for graft, the Communist Party's corruption watchdog said Sunday, making him the latest target of a widening corruption crackdown.

Dai Chunning, a vice president of the company, which is also called Sinosure, is "suspected of serious discipline violations," the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China said on its website.

It gave no further details in the brief statement but in China the term "discipline violations" generally denotes corruption.

President Xi Jinping has said endemic corruption threatens the Party's very survival and has vowed to go after high-flying "tigers" as well as lowly "flies."

Authorities have already announced a series of investigations or arrests of senior officials, including Xu Minjie, executive director at China Cosco Holdings, who was under investigation by related departments and had resigned for "personal reasons," a company statement said on November 9.

Mao Shijia, former general manager of China Shipping Tanker Co Ltd, Liu Houping, deputy general manager of production and operation department at China Shipping Tanker Co Ltd, and Jia Hongxiang, former vice chairman of China Shipping Container Lines Co, were also reportedly under investigation.

Four employees from China Southern Airlines were taken away by the police possibly for involvement in corruption, the Beijing Youth Daily reported Sunday.

In September this year, the State Council, China's cabinet, announced the removal of Jiang Jiemin from his post as head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

Jiang was the Party chief of China National Petroleum Corporation between 2006 and 2013.