A former state-owned assets official in north China's Hebei Province stood trial on Monday for accepting bribes and paintings worth 23 million yuan (3.6 million U.S. dollars).
Zhou Jie, former head of the Hebei Provincial State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, was accused of accepting or demanding bribes between 2006 and 2014 in exchange for benefits for companies or individuals, according to trial proceedings at the Langfang City Intermediate People's Court.
Zhou was charged with asking for three valuable paintings, including one worth 3.1 million yuan by Qi Baishi, one of 20th century China's most outstanding artists, from a company boss in Tangshan City, Hebei.
The court will hand down a verdict on a separate day.
Zhou was a senior political advisor of Hebei when he was investigated for serious discipline and law violations in April this year.
The country's unprecedented anti-corruption campaign has sent a large number of both high-ranking and lower-level officials to jail in the past three years.
