A top Chinese politician tipped as a potential successor to President Xi Jinping is being investigated for graft, Beijing announced on Monday — eliminating him from the contest just months ahead of a key Communist Party meeting where the country’s next line-up of leaders is expected to be revealed.
Sun Zhengcai, until recently the top party official in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing, is suspected of a “serious discipline violation” — a phrase used by the party as a euphemism for graft — according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The investigation, which is likely to result in a criminal trial and jail sentence for Mr Sun, underlines Mr Xi’s disruption of Communist Party succession norms, under which Mr Sun was expected to be elevated to the elite Politburo Standing Committee at the five-yearly party congress this autumn.