China launches fresh drive against corruption

China's top anti-graft agency has sent 13 inspection teams across the country in its fresh crackdown on official misconduct.

Inspectors will oversee the performance of officials in the provincial-level regions of Guangxi, Shanghai, Qinghai, Tibet, Zhejiang, Hebei, Shaanxi, Heilongjiang, Sichuan and Jiangsu, Xinhua quoted a statement by ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) Thursday.

The inspection will also cover China's General Administration of Sport, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and state-owned automaker China FAW Group Corporation.

Inspectors will look for possible misconduct such as corruption, failure to implement the party's frugality directives and other policies as well as malpractices in official selection and promotion procedures, the statement said.

The CCDI had previously launched three rounds of inspection since the CPC's 18th National Congress in 2012, covering 34 provincial-level regions, departments and units.

The routine inspection is carried out in accordance with the party's constitution.

Statistics released by the commission earlier this year said 30,420 officials were punished by disciplinary authorities for violating the guideline in 2013.

The CPC Tuesday launched a probe into allegations of "grave violations of discipline" against former public security minister Zhou Yongkang, the highest-ranking official to be investigated in decades.