Chinese billionaire Sun Dawu was sentenced to 18 years in jail on Wednesday for crimes including "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" and illegally occupying farmland, a court said, the latest stiff punishment of an outspoken corporate boss.

Sun had built a major conglomerate in the northern Chinese province of Hebei, employing 9,000 people in activities ranging from poultry processing and pet food to hospitals, schools and resorts.