The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said that Wang Baoan was "suspected of serious violation of discipline", a phrase that usually refers to corruption.

It gave no further details of the investigation.

Mr Wang is the latest top official to be investigated as part of a crackdown on alleged corruption.

The announcement came hours after he held a media briefing on the state of China's economy.

Mr Wang had tried to reassure investors that recent stock market volatility in China would have a limited impact on the real economy.

He also said there was no reason why the currency should further depreciate given the country's economic fundamentals: "China's economy will be supported by urbanisation, consumption and other positive factors."

The 52-year-old was deputy finance minister from 2012 until his appointment to the powerful position as head of the statistics bureau in April 2015.

Corruption crackdown

Various prominent figures have been caught in President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown, including military officials, former judges, ministry chiefs and numerous bosses of state-owned companies.

Earlier this month, former deputy public security minister Li Dongsheng was jailed for 15 years for corruption offences.

In October Zhou Yongkang, the former head of China's security services, was jailed for life on a series of corruption charges, including bribery, abuse of power and leaking state secrets.