Corruption investigations against China’s deputy propaganda chief

The one-line statement did not provide any details about Zhang’s alleged crimes.

He is one of the highest-ranking officials in the top-secret department tasked with spreading the party’s ideology and censoring China’s tightly controlled media.

Zhang, 59, comes from the eastern province of Shandong and, according to an official biography, rose to prominence in an important party position in the capital Beijing.

He joined the Organisation Department – ​​a powerful body that oversees nationwide party appointments – in 2016 and rose to the rank of deputy chief before taking on his most recent role in 2020.

Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, has waged a tireless battle against deep-rooted corruption since taking office more than a decade ago.

Supporters say the campaign promotes clean governance, while critics say it is a tool for Xi to eliminate his political enemies.

In recent years, it has become relatively rare for incumbent senior officials to come into conflict with the fight against corruption.

Investigations had already been launched against the former deputy head of the Ministry of Justice in April, but he had already resigned from his post last year.

The highest-ranking official targeted so far is Zhou Yongkang, Xi’s powerful former security czar who was sentenced to life in prison for bribery in 2015.

Recently, the party’s anti-corruption campaigners have turned their attention to the financial and banking sectors as well as state-owned enterprises.

Xu Zuo, a top executive at China Citic Group – a huge state-backed investment conglomerate – was investigated this month for unspecified offenses.

And Bai Tianhui, the former chief executive of Huarong, another major state-owned asset management firm, was sentenced to death in May after being found guilty of accepting bribes totaling more than 1.1 billion yuan ($151.8 million).

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