Mayor of Chinese port city Tianjin investigated over corruption
Mayor Huang Xingguo of major northern port city, Tianjin, China, is being investigated for suspicion of corruption by China's Communist Party, marking the latest senior official to be caught up in President Xi Jinping's corruption crackdown. In this case, the accusations appear to have come out of the blue, and critics have claimed that the president has used his corruption campaign as a cover to root out his political rivals. Tianjin is a significant port city within an hour's drive of Beijing, with ambitions of becoming the financial hub for northern China.

The mayor of the major northern port city of Tianjin is being investigated on suspicion of corruption, China’s ruling Communist party said on Saturday, the latest senior official to be caught up in a war on deep-seated graft.

Huang Xingguo, 61, was suspected of “serious discipline breaches”, the party’s central commission for discipline inspection said, using the party’s normal euphemism for corruption.

Huang, who is also Tianjin’s acting Communist party chief, became mayor in 2008.

Tianjin is an important port city about an hour’s drive from Beijing that has ambitions to become a financial hub for northern China.

It is one of four conurbations – along with Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing – termed a municipality, giving it the same high status as a province.

In August last year, a series of massive explosions at a chemicals warehouse in Tianjin killed about 170 people, sparking anger nationwide that it had been built so close to residential areas.

Last month, the party announced it was investigating Yin Hailin, a long-time city planning official who became Tianjin’s deputy mayor in 2012, also on suspicion of corruption.

Dozens of senior people have been investigated or jailed since President Xi Jinping assumed power almost four years ago, vowing to go after corruption and warning, like others before, that the problem threatens the party’s grip on power.

Huang’s fall from grace appears to have come out of the blue.

On Saturday, the official Tianjin Daily covered his visit to a middle school on its front page and praised teachers for their work.

Critics have accused Xi of using the corruption campaign as a cover to root out political rivals, though he has denied this.

Last year, a Chinese court jailed former domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang for life for bribery, leaking state secrets and abuse of power.

He was the most senior Chinese official to be ensnared in a graft probe since the party swept to power in 1949.

It was not possible to reach Huang for comment and unclear if he had retained a lawyer.