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China formally charged former railways minister Liu Zhijun with corruption and abuse of power on Wednesday, state media said, the latest step in a graft investigation into the scandal-plagued railways, Reuters reported. 

Liu faces either a lengthy jail sentence or possibly death. How severely he is dealt with will be an indicator of how seriously new Chinese President Xi Jinping Xi takes his fight on corruption, one of the pillars of his new administration

Liu "practiced favoritism and carried out malpractice, misused his power and caused big losses to public property and the interests of the state and the people", the official Xinhua news agency said.

"The second intermediate Beijing court has already accepted the bribery and misuse of power case in accordance with the law and will chose a date for a trial," the news agency said.

"As a worker for the state, Liu Zhijun used his position to help others seek gain, illegally accepted wealth and assets from other people. The numbers involved were huge and the circumstances very serious," Xinhua added.

Liu took huge bribes and misused his position to help the chairman of an investment company get enormous illegal profits, according to previous accusations leveled by state media.

He has not been given a chance to defend himself in public.