The Chinese flag is pictured in front of the facade of the Chinese embassy in Berlin on April 22, 2024. John Macdougall, AFP/File  

China on Tuesday executed a former official for corruption, a court in the northern region of Inner Mongolia said, the latest development in Beijing's sweeping campaign against graft.

Li Jianping, former secretary of the Communist Party working committee of the Hohhot economic and technological development zone, had previously been sentenced to death for crimes including bribery and misappropriation of public funds.

"Approved by the Supreme People's Court, on the morning of December 17, 2024, the Hinggan League Intermediate People's Court of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region executed Li Jianping in accordance with the law," the court said in a statement.

Li was sentenced to death in 2022 after authorities found he had taken advantage of his position as a state employee to embezzle funds and seek benefits for criminal gangs.

The death sentence was upheld earlier this year despite an appeal by Li.

The former official's actions were determined to be "particularly grave", while "the social impact was particularly vile", Tuesday's statement noted.

President Xi Jinping has overseen a wide-ranging campaign against official corruption since coming to power just over a decade ago, with critics saying it also serves as a way to purge political rivals.

China classifies death penalty statistics as a state secret, though rights groups including Amnesty believe thousands of people are executed in the country every year.

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