China charges former official of defence industry regulator with graft

BEIJING, Feb 10 - China has accused a former deputy director of its defence industry regulator of bribery and abuse of influence, the top prosecutor said on Tuesday, as Beijing steps up its anti-graft campaign in the military and supporting industries.

The move, part of a wider shake-up that saw the investigation of the nation's top general, follows last week's removal of three lawmakers with ties to the defence, aerospace and nuclear industries, though no reason was given.

The official, Zhang Jianhua, was indicted for taking bribes and abusing his influence to secure improper benefits for others, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said, describing the amounts involved as "particularly large".

Zhang, 64, exploited his various positions at the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) to benefit others, the prosecutor added in a statement on its website.

With almost 40 years of experience, Zhang spent his early career in state-owned weapons maker China North Industries Group, before roles in the regulator that included heading a project review centre and in the finance and audit department.

China's top anti-graft watchdog put Zhang under investigation after he turned himself in May 2025, state media said. He was expelled from the ruling Chinese Communist Party in October.

President Xi Jinping, who has vowed to root out graft, has set the military ambitious goals to achieve by 2027, such as swifter integration of mechanisation, intelligence and other tools, while modernising its structure, staff and weapons.

The U.S. Pentagon has said corruption in the military could have disrupted its progress towards those goals.

China scored 43 on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index last year, unchanged from the previous year. The index ranks countries on a scale of one to 100, with higher scores indicating lower perceived levels of corruption.

That was four points higher than neighbouring India. The United States slipped one point to 64 in the same period. REUTERS