China's statistics chief under investigation

Wang Baoan, head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is being investigated for "severe disciplinary violation", according to the top anti-graft body of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The announcement was made just hours after Wang held a briefing with reporters regarding China's economy.

The head of the bureau that gathers China's economic data is under investigation by the anti-graft agency in a possible expansion of an anticorruption campaign that has shaken state companies and securities firms.

China's economic statistics have come under fire in recent years from analysts and economists who say they are artificially inflated.

Mr. Wang couldn't be reached for comment, and it wasn't clear whether he was represented by a lawyer. Before that he spent much of his career at the Ministry of Finance rising through the ranks before becoming a vice minister in 2012.

Nor is it the first time an anti-corruption investigation has toppled a senior figure at an inopportune time.

While the statement did not go into further detail, the use of such wording in the past has generally referred to corruption.

The presidents of the state-owned Agricultural Bank of China and Minsheng Bank were detained a year ago. The National Bureau of Statistics has been suspected of cleaning up data that runs contrary to the public interest of the nation of 1.3 billion people.

It remains unclear, however, whether the statistics chief is being investigated for his current role or his former role at the finance ministry. The official growth rate in 2015 was 6.9%.

Chinese shares plunged more than 6 per cent to 14-month lows on Tuesday after oil prices dropped again, reviving concerns about global growth and prompting a sell-off in the world's equity markets.