Xi calls for tough anti-corruption battle to be won

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Monday stressed the importance of exercising rigorous governance of the Party in the spirit of reform, reiterating that the fight against corruption is an unceasing effort.

He called for simultaneous, coordinated and comprehensive measures to ensure that those responsible do not have the audacity, opportunity or desire to corrupt themselves, and to resolutely win the difficult, long and all-out battle against corruption.

Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his speech at the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which opened in Beijing on Monday and ends Wednesday.

While recognizing the significant progress that has been made in exercising full and rigorous governance of the Party over the years, he warned of the continuing seriousness and complexity of the fight against corruption, and stressed the arduous task of eradicating the ground and conditions that breed corruption.

He stressed the need to maintain unwavering resolve in the ongoing fight against corruption, as well as maintain strategic resolve and high-pressure momentum to relentlessly advance the anti-corruption campaign.

Corruption poses the biggest threat to the Party, and fighting corruption is the most thorough form of self-reform, Xi said.

He stressed the need for resolute action to combat corruption and warned against hesitating, slowing down or abandoning anti-corruption efforts, as such actions could lead to serious mistakes.

A Party-wide campaign on Party discipline education was held from April to July, during which CPC members studied the newly revised Party regulations on disciplinary measures to strengthen their awareness of discipline and to always remain loyal, honest and responsible.

On the new path of the new era, it is imperative to make greater progress in Party governance to ensure that it remains the strong core leadership in building socialism with Chinese characteristics and to guarantee the steady advancement of China's modernization, Xi said.

He called for advancing concrete, targeted and steady political control, and urged maintaining a high degree of consistency with the CPC Central Committee in thoughts, policies and actions.

He stressed the importance of strengthening Party discipline as an ongoing task and guiding all Party members and officials to regard Party discipline as a daily norm.

Stressing a zero-tolerance approach in fighting corruption, Xi called for a resolute crackdown on violations of Party discipline, as well as formalism, bureaucratism, hedonism and extravagance.

Party members and officials must oppose privilege-seeking mentalities and practices and have a correct understanding of what it means to exercise power and what it means to perform well, he said.

Xi called for stepping up efforts to investigate key people in key sectors, punish both those taking and those giving bribes, and taking resolute measures to eliminate systemic corruption risks.

He called for strengthening power control and surveillance mechanisms in order to prevent and combat new forms of disguised corruption.

While emphasizing the primary responsibility and supervisory duties of Party committees in exercising full and rigorous governance of the Party, Xi called for the continued extension of such governance to the local level and advocated the deepening reforms of the control system at the local level.

Noting that disciplinary and supervisory authorities are crucial forces in advancing the Party's self-reform, Xi stressed the need to deepen reforms of the disciplinary and supervisory system to restrain power in an institutional cage.

It is essential to maintain a firm stance against wrongdoing, strengthen strict management and supervision of disciplinary inspection forces, and form a loyal, clean, responsible and competent disciplinary and supervision team, a- he added.

On Monday afternoon, Li Xi, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CCDI, delivered a work report on behalf of the CCDI Standing Committee.

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