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China’s Communist Party
ChinaPolitics

In FocusXi’s crusade against corruption has gone well beyond economic crime

Wider campaign is now increasingly about how officials use their power, whether they toe the line, and what they do in their private lives

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Illustration: Brian Wang
Yuanyue Dangin BeijingandWilliam Zhengin Hong Kong
The South China Morning Post has launched a major data project diving into President Xi Jinping’s signature anti-graft campaign. In the fourth part of an accompanying series, Yuanyue Dang and William Zheng delve into the broader reach of the campaign.
While economic crimes are often seen as the target of President Xi Jinping’s crusade against corruption, the campaign has become much wider.

Thirteen years since it began, it is now increasingly about how officials use their power, whether they toe the line, and what they do in their private lives.

The South China Morning Post analysed the findings of hundreds of disciplinary investigations conducted by the anti-corruption watchdog from 2013 to 2025. The findings suggest that Xi’s campaign has expanded from economic corruption to a broader effort to reshape how the bureaucracy is run.

While bribery is still the legal foundation for cases to enter the court system, political loyalty, discipline, policy implementation and cadre management have become part of how corruption is defined and punished in China.

The SCMP analysis looked at the cases of 423 cadres who were “centrally managed” – meaning senior officials who reported directly to the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party.

Cadres at this level are overseen by the party’s personnel agency – the Central Organisation Department – which is responsible for administration, assessment and recommendations on who is in and who is out.

SCMP Series
China’s anti-corruption fight: data deep dive
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