China sentences former agriculture minister Tang Renjian to death with reprieve over $38m bribes

China’s former minister of agriculture and rural affairs, Tang Renjian, was on Sunday sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for taking bribes worth USD 38 million, a Chinese court announced.

The Intermediate People’s Court of Changchun in Jilin Province said Tang, who also served as secretary of the ministry’s Communist Party leadership group, has been stripped of his political rights for life. All his personal assets will be confiscated, and the illegal gains recovered and transferred to the national treasury, the court ruling stated.

Tang previously served as governor of Gansu province from 2017 to 2020 before being appointed agriculture minister. His sentencing comes under President Xi Jinping’s sweeping anti-corruption drive, launched in 2020 to tighten control over the country’s domestic security and judicial apparatus.

Xi has repeatedly warned that corruption remains the greatest threat to the Communist Party. In January, he reiterated that graft continues to grow and must be stamped out to maintain the Party’s authority.

The court stated that between 2007 and 2024, Tang took undue advantage of his various positions at both central and local levels to assist others in matters such as business operation, project contracting and job adjustment.

In exchange, he accepted money and valuables totaling over 268 million yuan (about USD 38 million), state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Tang pleaded guilty and expressed remorse in his final statement.

The Changchun court ruled that Tang’s offenses, which inflicted severe damage on the interests of the state and the people, warranted the death penalty.

Yet considering his cooperation in confessing to his crimes, returning illicit gains, and other mitigating factors, the court granted Tang leniency in its final judgment.

The case was heard at the court on July 25. During the trial, prosecutors, the defendant and his defence counsel cross-examined the evidence and gave their respective accounts, the Xinhua report said.

Over a million Chinese officials have been punished or disciplined in the massive anti-corruption campaign carried out by the ruling Communist Party of China, (CPC) after President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. This includes dozens of top military officials.

With inputs from agencies