Liu Weidong, deputy general manager at China South Industries Group Corp, has been placed under a corruption probe for alleged serious violations of disciplinary regulations and national laws.

His case is now being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China and the National Commission of Supervision, according to a brief news release published by the top anti-corruption authorities.

Liu, 58, is a native of Zigui in Hubei province. He started his career in the automobile industry in 1988 after studying for four years at Wuhan University of Technology.

Since then, he had moved up through the ranks at Dongfeng Motor Corp, a State-owned automobile giant in Hubei, and was appointed deputy general manager at Dongfeng in 2001.

In May 2018, Liu was transferred to the post of deputy general manager at China South Industries Group Corp, one of the nation's major defense contractors and also one of the biggest Chinese carmakers.

He has become the latest executive in China's defense industry to be investigated for alleged violations of regulations and laws.