Slacking Chinese officials to face demotion or dismissal: state media

BEIJING (Reuters) - Underperforming Chinese officials will face demotion or lose their jobs, under new rules announced by the country's elite Politburo, state media said on Saturday.

Officials who break Communist Party rules, or are found to be corrupt, irresponsible or incompetent face "organizational adjustment", which is a euphemism for demotion or dismissal, the state-run China Daily reported.

The new regulations were approved at a Politburo meeting on Friday presided over by President Xi Jinping, the paper's online version said. The rules are to be adopted on a trial basis, it added, without giving details.

Last year, Premier Li Keqianq blasted Chinese officials for being "lazy and slack" in carrying out Beijing's policy directives, as they kept their heads down to stay out of trouble during President Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-graft campaign.

"Just muddling along" was exactly the same as actually being corrupt, he said.

(Writing by Nicholas Heath; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)