China's Minister of Industry and Information Technology is under investigation for corruption, state media reported on Thursday (July 28th), one of the most senior officials affected by the government's sweeping campaign.
The investigation against Xiao Yaqing is revealed a few months before an important congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which should, except surprise, authorize President Xi Jinping to lead a third term at the head of the party.
Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, at least one and a half million CCP cadres have been punished for corruption.
This campaign, generally hailed by public opinion, is also suspected by its detractors of being used to eliminate internal political adversaries in the presidential camp.
Digital giants under pressure from the authorities
Xiao Yaqing is notably accused of "
violation of discipline and the law
" and is the subject of an "
investigation
" by the CCP's internal disciplinary body, said public television CCTV, without giving further details.
This episode comes as the digital giants have been under pressure from the authorities since 2020, who accuse them in particular of illicit practices in terms of competition and data collection.
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Xiao Yaqing began his career in the early 1980s as an engineer in a factory before gradually climbing the ranks of the CCP and heading the Market Regulation Authority.
In July 2020, he was appointed Minister of Industry and Information Technology, a key post for China's ambitions in terms of electric vehicles and the deployment of the 5G network at the national level.
“Accepted bribes”
If the anti-corruption campaign has already made many heads fall (financiers, security or regulatory officials, bosses of the insurance sector), it is rare for a minister to be targeted by an investigation while still in office.
In China, almost all of the personalities prosecuted for corruption end up being convicted.
Former Justice Minister Fu Zhenghua was tried in July on '
suspects of accepting bribes and circumventing the law for personal gain
', according to the state news agency. New China.
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Former Deputy Public Security Minister Sun Lijun, who oversaw security issues in Hong Kong during the 2019 protests, was arrested in April 2020. He confessed on TV to receiving bribes for 13 million euros, hidden in seafood boxes. Finally, Lai Xiaomin, the ex-president of Huarong, one of the largest state-controlled asset management companies, had been executed in January 2021, accused of accepting bribes worth 215 million euros.
