BEIJING (Reuters) - The chief of China's anti-graft watchdog called for more severe punishments and stronger discipline for ruling Communist Party members, state media reported on Friday, as President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive enters its third year.

"The ruling Party's discipline and regulations must be harsher than the law," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wang Qishan as saying.

Wang heads the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, through which the country's leadership has conducted its sweeping efforts to stamp out corruption in the Communist Party and government ranks.

These efforts have brought down some of China's most senior political, military and state-owned enterprise officials.