Chinese leader Xi Jinping described the state of corruption in his government as “dire and complex” on Monday during a key meeting with senior officials in charge of discipline, according to state news agency Xinhua.
“After 10 years of unrelenting and powerful anti-corruption efforts in the new era, we have achieved an overwhelming victory and have comprehensively consolidated our achievements. However, the situation remains dire and complex,” Xi told members of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist Party’s highest supervisory body.
Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign has been a hallmark of his decade in power, resulting in investigations and dismissals of dozens of officials.
Late last month, he removed nine senior military officials from the country’s rubber-stamp parliament, signaling his willingness to target those he recently promoted. It followed Beijing’s decision to disappear and later unceremoniously banish its former defense minister, Li Shangfu, after just five months in the job.
In his speech to CCDI officials, Xi stressed the necessity of maintaining high pressure by punishing those guilty of corruption, and called for continued efforts to stop its spread through systemic reforms.
“We must strengthen the party’s centralized and unified leadership in the fight against corruption,” Xi said, according to remarks also carried by the party’s official People’s Daily newspaper.
He told investigators to target seven issue areas, including collusion in politics and business, power-based profit-seeking, and the infiltration of various interest groups into the political sphere.
China’s president wants to make examples of guilty parties in order to deter further incidents. “Seriously investigate and punish those bribers who always drag officials into trouble,” he said.
Florence Lo/AFP/WireImage
Signs of trouble—corruption that has permeated China’s highest ranks—are now everywhere.
On Saturday, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV aired a new documentary series exposing a dozen “typical cases” of graft among government officials. The four-part series, CCTV said, would “warn and educate.”
China’s strongest leader in a generation is overseeing an ongoing purge of the military establishment that sends a clear message about internal party discipline and integrity.
The military leaders dismissed in December included four generals from the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which oversees China’s conventional and nuclear arsenal.
Beijing has hinted that the upheaval will intensify as Xi seeks to prove his military can fight and win wars. At the same time, however, the constant reshuffling of top leaders may undermine the PLA’s image as a competent force.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.