The investigation will look into whether Mr Yang Xianghong, a party official in Wenzhou city, 'transgressed the rules of the Party and the government,' the newspaper said, quoting the provincial disciplinary inspection body. That formulation is generally used in corruption cases.

Mr Yang failed to return from a September trip to Europe claiming he had to stay in Paris because of a back problem, earlier reports in state media said.

Three days before leaving China, Mr Yang reportedly received a phone call from the disciplinary inspection body, which handles wrongdoing among party members, including corruption.

A team of three officials sent to France to retrieve him returned to China empty-handed, state press reported last week. -- AFP

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