Jiang Jiemin, head of a Cabinet commission that supervises major state-owned enterprises, has been removed from office because of suspected serious disciplinary violations, authorities said Tuesday.

The decision comes two days after officials confirmed he was being investigated.

Jiang was head of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) and deputy secretary of the SASAC committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xinhua learnt of Jiang's dismissal from the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee on Tuesday.

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Ministry of Supervision said on Sunday that Jiang is under investigation for such violations.

It is the first time that a full member of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC became the subject of a corruption probe as the Party's upgraded war on corruption since late last year's national congress has resulted in the fall of a number of corrupt officials.

Previously, Li Chuncheng, then deputy Party chief in Sichuan Province and Wang Yongchun, then deputy general manager of the China National Petroleum Corporation, were also sacked for "serious disciplinary violations."

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has called for a crackdown on corruption, vowing to target both "tigers" and "flies," or high-ranking and low-level officials.

The CPC's stepped-up efforts in fighting corruption and removing undesirable work styles among officials have demonstrated the Party's resolution in exercising strict self-discipline, according to political analysts.

TIGERS & FLIES

At a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held last week, a 2013-2017 work plan for the establishment and improvement of the corruption punishment and prevention system was approved.

The Party vowed to resolutely stop the spread of corruption, describing it a major mission for the whole Party, and to strictly deal with discipline violations, said an official statement issued after the meeting.

The exercise of power by officials must be checked and supervised to create a system, whereby officials dare not be corrupt and corruption tends not to happen, it said.

Xin Ming, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, called the ongoing investigations into corrupt officials, including Jiang, as "inevitable results" of the Party's corruption fight.

"The central authorities promise to tackle both 'tigers' and 'flies,' which shows their iron will in spotting and handling corrupt cadres regardless of their identities or positions," he said.

Ma Huaide, vice president of the China University of Political Science and Law, said corruption is essentially about power-for-money deals and the tunneling of benefits.

"Currently, China's market system and civil organizations have yet to be fully developed, and government organs are where public power is concentrated, leaving officials prone to corruption," the senior anti-corruption scholar said.

To curb corruption effectively involves a system that controls and supervises exercises of power well, Ma said. "The supervisory roles may be played by civil groups, the market, citizens, and an improved power distribution and conditioning mechanism inside authorities can also be helpful."

Noting that China is still facing tasks in reforms, he said transforming government functions, delegating its power to lower levels and streamlining administration is a "fundamental solution" for reducing corruption.

DANGERS & MEASURES

The CPC has grown from an over 50-member revolutionary Party to an 80-million-strong political party ruling the world's most populous country over the past 90-plus years.

The Party says it sticks to the "mass line," or furthering ties with the people, as its fundamental work guideline during the process.

However, it is a fact that there are recurring practices involving trading power for personal benefits by Party and government officials.

Party leaders have warned that the whole Party is confronted with increasingly grave dangers of lacking in drive, incompetence, being out of touch with the people, corruption and other misconduct.

The Party's new leadership headed by Xi Jinping since taking office late last year have introduced an eight-point rule on busting bureaucratism and extravagant styles among officials.

In June, the Party launched a year-long "mass line" campaign to clean up undesirable work styles among officials and further ties with the masses.

The measures are intended to not only target such problems as extravagant styles that need to be tackled urgently, but also help consolidate Party members' ideological belief of serving the people, according to analysts.

Discussions on comprehensively deepening reforms will top the agenda of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee scheduled for November, according to last week's meeting of Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Xin Ming believed that reforms will bring an improved system and reduce the breeding soil of corruption, thus facilitating the corruption fight.