Chinese President Xi Jinping has vowed to step up a crackdown on corruption in key sectors, including finance, energy and infrastructure, state media reported.
Mr. Xi, who began his second decade as China’s top leader in 2022 in a break with longstanding political norms, has waged a fierce campaign against corruption since taking power.
Proponents say the campaign promotes clean governance, though critics counter that it serves as a vehicle for Mr. Xi to purge political opponents. In recent months, the campaign has swept through industries including banking, insurance, state-backed business and sport. State broadcaster CCTV reported on Monday that a former top executive at a state-owned oil and gas giant had been arrested for suspected bribery.
In a speech to the ruling Communist Party’s anti-graft agency, Mr. Xi ordered “greater efforts” to fight corruption in “finance, state-owned enterprises, energy, medicine and infrastructure”, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday.
“An overwhelming victory has been achieved in the fight against corruption, with the gains fully consolidated” over the last ten years, Mr. Xi said, according to Xinhua.
But “the situation remains grave and complex”, he warned. Around 4.8 million party officials in China have been investigated since 2012, according to official figures from June 2022.
Of those, over 1.5 million have been handed punishments ranging from lengthy prison sentences to dismissal from official posts, demotion and expulsion from the party.
