Call for improving capacity to guard against graft comes at 'historic juncture', expert says

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has reaffirmed the Party's pledge to show zero tolerance for corruption and warned all members of the world's largest ruling Party that there is no room for complacency in the nation's anti-graft fight.

With the CPC set to convene its epochal 20th National Congress this year, Xi conveyed the message to the Party's more than 95 million members at a plenary session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, the Party's top discipline watchdog, on Tuesday. The three-day session is set to conclude on Thursday.

Some analysts have pointed out that even after the Party's unrelenting anti-graft efforts over the past decade, corruption－a cancer for all societies－remained the largest threat to the long-term governance of the CPC, and the fight against corruption is a battle the Party cannot afford to lose.

Xi, who is also China's president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, highlighted the need for a sober understanding inside the Party that the confrontation between corruption and anti-corruption is still going on in a fierce manner, and it is taking on some new characteristics.

The Party still faces a long and arduous task in guarding against the unwarranted influence of various interest groups, responding to hidden and increasingly sophisticated corrupt behavior, thoroughly removing opportunities for misconduct, phasing out systemic corruption and defusing risks and potential hazards, he said.

Wang Huiyao, president of the Beijing-based think tank Center for China and Globalization and a counselor for the State Council, China's Cabinet, said Xi has again heightened the importance of anti-graft efforts at a key historic juncture－the start of the Party's new journey to build China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.

"The threat of being undermined by corruption is the largest challenge facing the CPC," he said. "Only by removing the threat from corruption can the Party ensure that its governance is more effective, targeted and efficient."

He said it will require a strong and clean government to provide an adequate sense of happiness, gain and security to the Chinese people, and unrelenting anti-corruption efforts can also prevent the nation from "taking detours" in its development.

The CPC has launched its most forceful anti-graft campaign since its 18th National Congress in November 2012, when Xi was elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

According to the website of the CCDI, anti-graft bodies nationwide investigated over 4 million cases between November 2012 and October 2021, in which 4.37 million officials, including 484 senior officials, were held accountable for their wrongdoings.

The fall of senior officials, including Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou, Sun Zhengcai and Ling Jihua, was seen by observers as a demonstration of the Party's commitment to root out corruption within the highest ranks of the Party.

The Party's core leadership has enforced eight-point frugality rules since 2012, in a bid to ensure that senior officials can lead by example in disciplining themselves and their family members.

Wang said the CPC's anti-graft mechanism has been a key guarantee for its success and served as a shield for the Party to guard against various undermining attempts.

In his address at the session on Tuesday, Xi highlighted the necessity for the CPC to develop a system of institutions and norms that can enable its self-improvement and self-reform as part of broader efforts to exercise full and rigorous Party governance.

The Party must resolutely implement its eight-point frugality rules and maintain the momentum of fighting corruption and other misconduct, he said.

He also set out high requirements for the CPC's young officials, saying that they must be guided to stay loyal and faithful to the Party, use their power in the right manner and strictly obey Party discipline and laws.

Ma Liang, a professor of public administration at Renmin University of China in Beijing, said it is even more significant for the Party to bolster its anti-graft drive ahead of its 20th National Congress, when a new central leadership of the Party is going to be elected.

"Thus it is important for the CPC to stay vigilant against wrongdoings at this particular period, including the occurrence of corruption in the selection of officials," he said.

The emphasis given by Xi on exercising full and rigorous Party governance will help prevent the problem of officials found to have committed wrongdoings being promoted to higher positions, he said.

He added that the strong political resolve from the Party's top leadership to root out corruption and the nation's move to elevate its anti-graft drive from the level of bettering the State governance system and capacity was the key for the major outcomes in its clean governance push.

The anti-graft experience of the CPC over the past decade is also worth borrowing by other nations and political parties, he added.