China's then Politburo Standing Committee Member Zhou Yongkang (C) walks past Former China's President Hu Jintao (R) and Premier Wen Jiabao as they attend the opening ceremony of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at the Great Hall of the People, in Beijing, March 3, 2009. Two influential former Chinese leaders gave their consent for President Xi Jinping to investigate ex-domestic security chief Zhou Yongkang, sources told Reuters, a sign the corruption probe will not open a rift in the ruling Communist Party. Xi's predecessors Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin had approved the formal investigation into Zhou, the most senior Chinese official to be ensnared in a graft scandal since the party swept to power in 1949, two sources with ties to the leadership said. Picture taken on March 3, 2009. To match Exclusive CHINA-CORRUPTION/ REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW)