China’s graft-busters to ‘delve deep’ in new round of corruption inspections

arifnsn October 12, 2023

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China has begun a new round of corruption inspections looking for “potential major risks”, soon after a months-long crackdown that focused on the financial, sports and medical sectors.

Li Xi, chief of the country’s top graft-buster, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said the CCDI would “delve deep” during the inspections that will target five government departments and 26 state-owned enterprises.

The list of targets released by the CCDI after a meeting on Tuesday suggests a focus on the tech sector. The five departments are the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, and the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration. SOEs in the car, steel, shipping, airline and publishing sectors are also in the cross hairs.

CCDI chief Li Xi said the inspections should help to identify major security risks. Photo: Weibo

Follow-up inspections will also be carried out in the state monopolised railways sector after crackdowns in recent years brought down senior officials including Sheng Guangzu, the former minister of railways and general manager of China Railway Corp.

“China’s high-quality development can only be achieved when the bottom line of security is ensured,” Li told the meeting on the next round of inspections, according to state news agency Xinhua.

It is the second round of inspections since the ruling Communist Party held its national congress in October last year.

Li said the inspections should help to identify major security risks and that relevant parties should help to defuse those risks.

It comes after President Xi Jinping warned earlier this year that China was facing more “complex and difficult” national security concerns amid its rivalry with the US and other Western nations, especially in the tech sector.

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Li, a Politburo Standing Committee member and head of the party’s Central Leading Group for Inspection Work, also said the CCDI would strengthen supervision of “No 1” figures – the heads of government departments and SOEs – and improve collaboration with audit, financial, statistics, petition and other departments.

The leadership said at a Politburo meeting last month that corruption inspections were an “effective way” to find problems and that they would continue.

Tens of thousands of officials have been brought down since Xi launched the sweeping anti-corruption drive when he took power in 2012.

The most recent crackdown, from March to September this year, targeted the financial, sports and medical sectors and more than 140 SOE officials were detained for investigation. At least 36 senior cadres – officials at vice-ministerial ranking or above – have been placed under investigation this year.

In July, two leaders of the PLA Rocket Force, an elite unit responsible for China’s nuclear arsenal, were replaced, with no official explanation given. Military sources have said that the pair – commander Li Yuchao and his deputy Zhang Zhenzhong – were under investigation for corruption.

Defence Minister General Li Shangfu has not been seen in public since the end of August. Photo: Reuters

Beijing has also not given any explanation for the absence of Defence Minister General Li Shangfu, who has not been seen in public since the end of August. It is unclear whether he is involved in the military investigation. Li Shangfu was at the helm of the Central Military Commission’s equipment division between 2017 and 2022.

It follows the case of Qin Gang, who was replaced as foreign minister by his predecessor Wang Yi in July after a similar unexplained absence from public engagements. The reason for Qin’s removal is still not known.

Both men were believed to have been hand-picked by Xi himself for promotions that had taken place in the past 12 months.

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