Yang Chao, who formerly held the positions of president and party secretary at China Life Insurance Co, is under investigation for suspected violations of Party discipline and state law, according to China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
The probe into Yang, announced through an official CCDI statement and reported by Reuters, adds to a growing list of compliance-related investigations into figures in China’s state-owned financial institutions.
The CCDI did not provide additional information about the nature of the suspected violations, nor was a timeline offered for the inquiry’s conclusion. No public comments have been made by China Life Insurance as of this publication.
Yang’s investigation comes as China continues a broad anti-corruption campaign, with particular focus on the financial services industry.
Financial, energy, and sports sectors have been identified as priority areas for scrutiny under ongoing regulatory efforts to reinforce internal controls and governance.
Earlier this year, during a three-day plenary session of the CCDI held in Beijing, senior Chinese leaders said the Party was committed to tackling corruption. According to a summary of that meeting, the commission reviewed disciplinary and supervisory actions taken in 2024 and set goals for 2025.
The session included remarks by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, who emphasised the importance of continued vigilance.
In 2024, enforcement actions targeted practices such as excessive spending and bureaucratic inefficiency, while investigations into new forms of corruption were launched across key sectors.
The CCDI reported that 68 Party and government departments underwent regular inspections last year.
The commission has indicated that in 2025 it will focus more heavily on preventing and uncovering less visible forms of misconduct, such as abuse of authority for personal gain by public officials or their family members involved in private business.
Mechanisms for early detection and tighter supervision are expected to play a larger role in upcoming enforcement strategies.
The CCDI’s communique also noted a need to address practices that distort competition or increase compliance burdens at the local level. Anti-corruption work is expected to be closely integrated with the country’s modernisation goals, aligning governance reforms with economic development priorities.
