Zhou Jiangyong, former Hangzhou party chief, had been taking bribes for 20 years before he was caught. Photo:

A court in China has handed down a suspended death sentence to the former Communist Party boss of the e-commerce hub Hangzhou in a landmark corruption case, state media reported on Tuesday.

Zhou Jiangyong was convicted of accepting bribes worth 182 million yuan (US$25 million) by the Intermediate People’s Court in Chuzhou, in the eastern province of Anhui, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The death sentence is likely to be commuted to a life sentence after a two-year probationary period, while Zhou, 56, was also deprived of political rights for life and had his personal property confiscated.