With an economy on the brink of deflation and Donald Trump threatening to start a trade war, China starts the new year with an abundance of challenges. But for Xi Jinping, the greatest risk to the Communist Party’s authority comes from within its own ranks.
“Corruption is the biggest threat facing the party, and countering corruption is the most thorough form of self-revolution,” he said this week.
“The current situation in the fight against corruption remains grave and complex. The existing amount of corruption has not been eliminated and new cases have continued to occur.
“The task of eradicating the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption remains arduous and burdensome.”
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Xi was speaking to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s top anti-corruption body, which later promised to step up its efforts to root out graft among the 99 million-strong membership. They would take tougher action not only against those who accepted bribes but also against those paying them. They could face up to 10 years in prison.
When Xi started his anti-corruption campaign in 2012, many observers inside and outside China saw it as a ploy to target rivals within the party. It has certainly helped to tighten his grip on power as even current and former members of the politburo, who previously enjoyed a tacit immunity from prosecution, fell into its net.
More than four million officials were prosecuted on corruption charges between 2013 and 2021, including almost 400 at or above the provincial level. Last year alone saw 596,000 cases of corruption and misconduct investigated, with 462,000 individuals penalised, according to official figures.
At ministerial level, 58 officials were investigated. In a continuing crackdown on corruption in the military, two defence ministers and almost 20 generals were fired. High-profile figures, known as tigers, make the headlines, but most of those accused of corruption are low-level officials, known within the party as flies and ants.
In most cases, the investigation starts as an internal party disciplinary procedure, an extrajudicial process during which the accused is not entitled to legal representation. Those under investigation can be detained for weeks or even months before their families are told where they are and before any criminal charges are brought.
Xi’s rationale for the anti-corruption drive is that low standards among officials were undermining the party’s legitimacy among the people and thus represented a threat to its position. In official statements, corruption is characterised as disloyalty to the party and its century-long struggle as well as a personal moral failing.
“For party members and cadres, when faced with temptations and enticements, they must reflect on the party’s revolutionary ideals, think about the countless revolutionary ancestors who have sacrificed their lives and shed their blood, the weight of the party and people in their hearts, think about the consequences and harm of corruption, and think about the different fates of Marxist parties around the world,” the People’s Daily wrote this week.
Party figures avoid conspicuous consumption nowadays and the expensive sports cars that were common in Beijing a decade ago are now a rare sight. Some egregious practices such as paying bribes to secure public service jobs are less common than in the past, but corruption remains endemic throughout Chinese society.
The crackdown has made officials and those who bribe them more careful, but money still oils the wheels of business, public procurement and the justice system. Police and prosecutors have broad discretion in dealing with some offences and some are susceptible.
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The transaction often involves an intermediary so that the one paying the bribe will often not know the name of the official who will receive it. Some bribes are made in cash and others are paid to family members of the recipient, sometimes by paying college fees for children studying abroad.
The anti-corruption commission said this week it would use new technology including AI to take a more proactive approach to spotting suspicious behaviour or financial patterns. Inspectors are taking a closer interest in the family members of senior officials, tracking their financial transactions and watching what they bring through customs.
International experience shows that most successful anti-corruption campaigns require institutions like a strong judiciary, an independent oversight agency and an active civil society to make the exercise of power more accountable. China has none of these, and Xi’s campaign is a top-down exercise in party discipline involving the surveillance of officials and their public humiliation and shaming if they are found to be corrupt.
“Founded in 1921, the party, with its experience of ruling the most populous country in the world since 1949, must always remain vigilant to ward against degeneration from within,” a commentator wrote this week in China Daily. “It must not forget the lessons of history and must not be slow to respond to its own problems to ensure that it retains its vigour and vitality.”