Chongqing mayor under investigation by China's anti-graft watchdog

BEIJING, March 20 (Reuters) - Hu Henghua, mayor of Chongqing, a municipality in southwestern China, was being investigated over suspected "serious" violation of law and discipline, China's top anti-graft watchdog said in a statement on Friday.

The probe comes amid China's intensifying "high-pressure" campaign to root out corruption and enforce discipline in the ruling Communist Party that has seen investigations, removals and arrests of several senior officials in recent years.

Chongqing is one of China's four direct-administered municipalities which also include Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, holding the same administrative status as a province.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) did not give details in Friday's statement regarding Hu's investigation.

In 2023, Hu had been given a disciplinary warning within the Party for failure to oversee housing, construction and safety regulations that led to a building collapse in Changsha, capital city of southern Chinese province of Hunan in 2022 in which over 50 people were killed.

Hu assumed office as Chongqing mayor in December 2021 after holding senior posts in Hunan between late 2013 and 2020.