BEIJING • Two former senior Chinese politicians were convicted of corruption and given lengthy prison terms yesterday, courts said, the latest figures to be jailed in President Xi Jinping's anti-graft campaign.
The news coincided with a state media report yesterday that Chinese leaders will gather later this month to set a course for the world's second-largest economy over the next five years, as slowing growth raises global concerns.
Both men convicted yesterday are seen as allies of Zhou Yongkang, the former security chief who became the highest-level victim of Mr Xi's drive when he was jailed for life in June, in what many observers say was a political purge.
Jiang Jiemin, the former head of the body that regulates China's state-owned firms, was sentenced to 16 years, the Hanjiang Intermediate People's Court said on a verified social media account. He was convicted of "accepting bribes, large amounts of money and property from unknown sources, and using state-owned companies for personal gain", it added.
Li Chuncheng, the former deputy Communist Party boss of Sichuan - one of Zhou's former powerbases - was sentenced to 13 years for accepting bribes and abuse of power, according to a statement from the Xianning Intermediate People's Court posted on Sina Weibo.
Jiang is a former head of the China National Petroleum Corporation, a post previously held by Zhou, and Jiang and Li are reportedly part of a Communist Party faction with roots in the oil industry, known as the "petroleum gang".
Aside from the prison sentences, both men will have one million yuan (S$221,000) in personal assets confiscated, the statements said. Jiang and Li both accepted the sentences and will not appeal, the courts added.
Communist Party authorities have waged a much-publicised campaign against endemic graft since Mr Xi ascended to the organisation's leadership two years ago.
Mr Xi has authorised the Fifth Plenum of the Communists' Central Committee to be held from Oct 26 to 29, the official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
The meeting, expected to focus on structural reform and easing state control, will finalise the 13th Five-Year Plan, which will start next year. The ruling party aims to make China a "moderately prosperous society" by 2020.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
