--- description: Li Chongxi, once a senior aide to imprisoned former Chinese security chief Zhou Yongkang, will spend 12 years in jail on corruption charges title: Former Top Chinese Aide Sentenced to 12 Years for Corruption image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf93e4319da482f72/69886f502dce0134dc9e6512/ap_734309014743.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Former Top Chinese Anti-Corruption Official Sentenced to 12 Years for Corruption ## Video: China's Drift Towards a More Fragmented World [Watch (HLS stream): China's Drift Towards a More Fragmented World](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jZ1U3aiv.m3u8) (2:49)  _Published 2015-06-02. Editor-at-large Ian Bremmer discusses China's financial growth and the challenges it faces in becoming the world's largest economy._ by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 3, 2015 9:41 AM CUT  Li Chongxi, then chairman of the Sichuan provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attends a conference in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, on Jan. 10, 2012 Li Chongxi, then chairman of the Sichuan provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, attends a conference in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province, on Jan. 10, 2012Gu Dao— Imaginechina/AP by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 3, 2015 9:41 AM CUT A senior Chinese official who was once a key aide to imprisoned former Chinese security chief Zhou Yongkang has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of corruption, Reuters [reported](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/03/uk-china-corruption-idUKKCN0SS06T20151103 "undefined") on Tuesday. Li Chongxi, who was the top political adviser in China’s southwestern Sichuan province and the head of the province’s anticorruption watchdog, is one of several of Zhou’s political allies to face corruption charges and the latest public figure brought down in President Xi Jinping’s vast campaign against corruption within the ranks of the Chinese Communist Party. Li was convicted of accepting the equivalent of $1.75 million in cash and goods and capitalizing on his positions in Sichuan to gain land-development rights for local companies. He confessed to his crimes in court and expressed contrition, which Xinhua news agency said yielded a less severe sentence. Zhou, meanwhile, will spend the rest of his life in prison after courts [found him guilty](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/12/world/asia/zhou-yongkang-former-security-chief-in-china-gets-life-sentence-for-corruption.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") in June of abusing power, revealing state secrets and accepting bribes. The news of Li’s conviction came a day authorities detained Zhang Yun, president and vice chairman of the Agricultural Bank of China, which is one of the country’s four major commercial banks. The [_Financial Times_](http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2c8a3360-813e-11e5-84dc-31c8b3b18e5f.html#axzz3qPfdGdt9 "undefined") quoted Chinese media reports saying that Zhang had been “taken away to assist an investigation” — a Chinese euphemism commonly deployed for graft arrests. \[[_Reuters_](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/11/03/uk-china-corruption-idUKKCN0SS06T20151103 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4097847/li-chongxi-anti-graft-charges/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4097847/li-chongxi-anti-graft-charges/"},"headline":"Former Top Chinese Anti-Corruption Official Sentenced to 12 Years for Corruption","datePublished":"2015-11-03T09:41:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:17:37.670Z","description":"Li Chongxi was a senior aide to disgraced official Zhou Yongkang","url":"https://time.com/4097847/li-chongxi-anti-graft-charges/","keywords":["China","corruption"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf93e4319da482f72/69886f502dce0134dc9e6512/ap_734309014743.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf93e4319da482f72/69886f502dce0134dc9e6512/ap_734309014743.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"China's Communist Party expels former Zhou Yongkang aide Li Chongxi","caption":"China's Communist Party expels former Zhou Yongkang aide Li Chongxi","creditText":"Gu Dao— Imaginechina/AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4097847/li-chongxi-anti-graft-charges/","name":"Former Top Chinese Anti-Corruption Official Sentenced to 12 Years for Corruption"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"China's Drift Towards a More Fragmented World","description":"Editor-at-large Ian Bremmer discusses China's financial growth and the challenges it faces in becoming the world's largest economy.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jZ1U3aiv/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-02T18:26:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jZ1U3aiv.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4097847/li-chongxi-anti-graft-charges/","duration":"PT2M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4097847/li-chongxi-anti-graft-charges/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```