Beijing, Jan 14: The disciplinary body of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has called for reinforced anti-corruption efforts during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). The call was made in a communique adopted at the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, held from Monday to Wednesday in Beijing.
Country’s President Xi Jinping, also the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the session and delivered the speech, Xinhua news agency reported.
On Tuesday, party mouthpiece People’s Daily highlighted that while economic growth and technological breakthroughs are important targets, one of the foremost priorities of the Communist Party of China is ensuring unblemished Party conduct.
“President Xi Jinping has always held that there is no place for corruption in China. He sees corruption as a cancer that threatens the vitality of the world’s largest Marxist governing party. Under his leadership, China has taken more remarkable steps in the fight against corruption since 2012. The ongoing anti-corruption drive is meant to ensure that the CPC works for the people of China and the largest interests of the nation rather than advancing its own interests,” the People’s Daily mentioned.
Highlighting the CPC’s multilayered anti-corruption mechanism to eliminate corrupt practices, it stated that corruption does not always involve money and involves malpractices, wastage of resources, delay in meeting deadlines and slackness at work.
Citing Chinese media, Sri Lanka’s leading media outlet Daily Mirror reported that Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive will intensify after a record 65 senior officials were detained in 2025, the highest number since the campaign began more than a decade ago.
“The figure, released by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), represents a 12 per cent rise – 58 senior officials – over 2024 Starting from a low of 18 in 2020, the figure climbed to 25 in 2021 and 32 in 2022, before reaching 45 in 2023 that underscores the widening scope of the crackdown into China’s political, financial and military systems,” the daily reported.
It added that the Chinese military has also seen sweeping purges with record numbers of military leaders, including former Central Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong, having been expelled, reflecting Beijing’s concern about corruption within the armed forces amid accelerating military modernisation.
“The recent surge in cases highlights both widening exposure of entrenched graft and Beijing’s determination to tighten control amid slowing economic growth, mounting policy challenges and geopolitical strain. Those caught span provincial leaderships, central ministries, state-owned enterprises, elite universities, and, notably, the financial sector. The fall of former securities regulator Yi Huiman sent shock waves through markets already unsettled by weak investor confidence,” the newspaper mentioned ahead of the January 12-14 plenary session.
IANS
