Battle against corruption seen as unceasing endeavor

China's battle against corruption is an unceasing endeavor, the nation's top anti-graft watchdog said. It called for rigorous investigation of cases of corruption in which political and economic issues are intertwined, according to a communique issued on Wednesday.

The communique calls for disciplinary authorities to focus more on the fields of finance, State-owned enterprises, energy, tobacco, medicine, universities, sports, development zones, engineering construction and bidding, and it urges them to intensify systematic rectification in these areas.

The communique was adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which concluded on Wednesday.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attended the session and delivered an important speech when it opened on Monday.

The plenary session reviewed discipline inspection and supervision work in 2024 and assigned tasks for 2025. It also adopted a work report delivered by Li Xi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CCDI.

The communique emphasized the establishment of a mechanism for investigating and addressing corruption and improper conduct, calling for comprehensive correction of problems in key areas.

In recent years, the anti-corruption campaign in key fields has been continuously deepened, with a number of corrupt officials disciplined or given criminal punishment.

In May 2024, He Zehua, former deputy chief of the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes worth more than 943 million yuan ($128.6 million).

In addition to the rectification of misconduct and corruption in key fields, the communique also clarified that disciplinary authorities should attach greater importance to solving difficulties in discovering, collecting evidence about and determining new and hidden forms of corruption, with scrutiny tightened on the issues of abuse of power, dereliction of duty and decisions that lead to significant losses of State assets.

Efforts to combat cross-border corruption must be increased, and the warning and supervision of situations in which officials' spouses, children and their spouses engage in unauthorized business operations also need to be strengthened, it said.

The communique also called for the formulation of a three-year action plan for building a clean-governance culture in the new era, with coordinated efforts to penalize bribe givers.

With much progress having been made in the crackdown on irregularities and corruption in industries closely related to people's daily lives, including school meals, village vitalization, medical insurance and nursing care, the communique emphasized that the momentum will be continued.

It also said that disciplinary actions will be taken to address problems in the funeral and burial sector, an issue that has drawn frequent public complaints.