China has sacked the mayor of the eastern city of Nanjing, in the the latest high-profile case in a nationwide crackdown on corruption.

Ji Jianye, who also served as deputy Communist Party chief of Nanjing, was dismissed from his leadership positions on suspicion of serious violations of party discipline, the official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

It did not provide further details, but the vague charge usually means corrupt acts such as taking bribes, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The dismissal came two days after the ruling party's corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, revealed that Ji was placed under internal investigation.

Media reports said Ji's case may have involved about $3.3m.

Ji has been known as "Mayor Bulldozer" for his strong penchant for large-scale capital projects in Nanjing, a provincial capital city of 8 million people.

President Xi Jinping, who took office in March, has called corruption a threat to the ruling Communist Party's survival and vowed to go after powerful "tigers" as well as lowly "flies".

The corruption crackdown has so far netted a handful of senior officials, among them former executives from oil giant PetroChina.