Lu Wei
China's former internet chief, Lu Wei, pleaded guilty in court on Friday of taking millions of dollars in bribes, after prosecutors accused him of abusing his power in various government posts over 15 years.
The ruling Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog said in November that Lu, who once headed the powerful Cyberspace Administration of China, was under investigation for serious discipline breaches.
He had since been expelled from the party, paving the way for his prosecution and making him one of a number of senior officials caught up in a sweeping anti-graft campaign under President Xi Jinping.
Prosecutors at an intermediate court in the Zhejiang province city of Ningbo said that between 2002 and 2017, Lu received illicit assets from government units or individuals worth more than 32 million yuan ($4.6 million), the official Xinhua news agency said.
China has arrested a former vice finance minister for suspected corruption, its top prosecutor said on Friday.Zhang Shaochun has been under investigation for "serious violation of discipline and law", the graft watchdog said, in a long-running corruption campaign under President Xi Jinping.Southeast Asia agrees guidelines on air encounters, terrorism data swapsUS-China trade frictions contributing to China equity slump
China arrests former vice finance minister for graft
"Lu Wei also made a final statement to the court, and admitted guilt and expressed regret," Xinhua said.
The news agency said a verdict would be announced later, though Lu, 58, is almost certain to be found guilty, as courts are controlled by the party and will not challenge the accusations against him.
At the height of his influence, Lu, a colourful and often brash official by Chinese standards, was seen as emblematic of increasingly pervasive internet controls.
He had worked his way up through the Xinhua news agency before becoming head of propaganda in Beijing and then moving to internet work in 2013. He later became a deputy propaganda minister.
Trade frictions between the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies, have contributed to the slump in China stock markets, Vice Premier Liu He said on Friday.China and the United States are "in touch", Liu told the state news agency Xinhua, without elaborating. Sri Lanka reverses $300-mln China housing deal ahead of PM's India visitExxon Mobil bets big on China LNG, sidesteps trade war
US-China trade frictions contributing to China equity slump
Xi has presided over a sweeping corruption crackdown since coming to power in 2012 and has vowed to target both "tigers" and "flies", a reference to top officials and ordinary bureaucrats.
The campaign has seen the jailing or punishment of hundreds of thousands of officials and also brought down dozens of senior party and military officials.
The crackdown has not just been focused on issues like bribery and using public money to fund lavish lifestyles. It has also taken aim at those whose political loyalty is found lacking or who express doubt about party policies.
China has rejected criticism that the anti-graft campaign is as much about settling political scores as about stamping out genuine criminal acts.