A veteran political patron of the shipbuilding industry in China’s Jiangsu province is under investigation for “serious disciplinary violations”.

The authorities’ wording of the alleged violations is often used in corruption cases.

Liu Jianguo, 65, is “suspected of serious violations of the law”, according to Beijing’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspec­tion (CCDI), the organ of the Communist Party of China that investigates infringements by party members.