China will prosecute a former Communist Party boss in the western city of Hotan, in the troubled Xinjiang region, an anti-graft watchdog said on Wednesday, as President Xi Jinping pushes on with a years-long crackdown on corruption.

Chen Yuanhua, 50, was removed from his post as party secretary in Hotan and expelled from the party for "serious violations of discipline," the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement on its website.

Authorities announced an investigation into Chen earlier in the year.