Former head of China's National Bureau of Statistics(NBS), Qiu Xiaohua, is under investigation in connection with a pension corruption scandal in Shanghai, the bureau announced on Thursday.

NBS's new spokesperson Li Xiaochao said at a press conference in Beijing that Qiu Xiaohua is being investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China for "serious violation of discipline."

China's cabinet, the State Council, announced Qiu Xiaohua's removal earlier this month, but it did not give any reason at the time.

It also appointed Xie Fuzhan as the NBS director.

Born in 1958, Qiu Xiaohua is a native of East China's Fujian Province. He graduated from the department of Economics of Xiamen University in Fujian in 1982.

Qiu was appointed NBS' deputy director in 1999. He served as chief economist and spokesman for NBS between 1993 and 1998.

He was appointed director of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) this March to replace Li Deshui.
 
Editor: Yan