China’s corruption watchdog targets Agriculture Minister Tang Renjian

Tang is the first member of the Communist Party’s current Central Committee to come under investigation for ‘discipline violations’

He has been in the job since late 2020 and started his career in the ministry in the 1980s

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Agriculture Minister Tang Renjian is the first member of the Communist Party’s 20th Central Committee to come under investigation. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 12:21pm, 19 May 2024

China’s top anti-graft watchdog is investigating the country’s agriculture minister, the latest high-level official to come under scrutiny.

Tang Renjian was “suspected of serious violations of Communist Party discipline and the law, and is currently undergoing disciplinary review and supervisory investigation”, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said on its website on Saturday, without giving details.

Tang’s last public appearance was just three days before the announcement, at a rural talent conference in Xianyang, in the northwest province of Shaanxi where he inspected “innovation in the agricultural industry” and training for farmers.

In April, Tang had hosted a meeting of the party’s Central Leading Group for Inspection Work before the group inspected the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, saying the ministry would “pay great attention to” and respond to each issue the group raised.

According to publicly available information, Tang is the 11th delegate to the party’s national congress in October 2022 and the first member of the 20th Central Committee to be investigated.

Other delegates under investigation are former Beijing deputy mayor Gao Peng, former Bank of China chairman Liu Liange and Cui Maohu, former director of the National Religious Affairs Administration.