China jails former chief of state-owned automaker FAW for graft

[BEIJING] A Chinese court has jailed the former chief of one of the country's largest state-owned automakers for 11-1/2 years for graft, China Central Television (CCTV) said on Thursday, the latest official swept up in a campaign to eradicate corruption.

Xu Jianyi, the former chairman and party secretary of China FAW Group Corp, had accepted 12.2 million yuan (US$1.8 million) in bribes, the broadcaster said, citing a court in Beijing.

A FAW representative declined to provide any immediate comment.

The court said it exercised leniency for Xu, who is also the former secretary of China's ruling Communist Party in the northeastern province of Jilin, because he had confessed and helped secure the return of the illegal gains.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned he will go after high-ranking "tigers" as well as lower-ranked "flies" in the far-reaching campaign unleashed since he took office in 2013.

REUTERS