China’s Communist Party has put officials’ family finances and business links under closer scrutiny in a new discipline resolution that also identifies digital and cross-border finance as areas for anti-corruption enforcement.
Adopted during a leadership gathering this week, the resolution was released by state news agency Xinhua on Sunday, Nov. 1. It calls for officials to be monitored throughout their careers and for reviews of family wealth that does not square with officials’ lawful earnings. Relatives’ commercial activities should also face routine scrutiny, the document says.
The resolution identifies proxy shareholdings, cryptocurrencies, blockchain and cross-border funds as channels that anti-corruption efforts should address because they can facilitate corruption.
It also urges party members to uphold President Xi Jinping’s position as the party’s “core” and align with the senior leadership. Promotion decisions should consider an official’s “party spirit,” assessed through work and conduct, remarks, social contacts and family values, the document says. It describes the party as broadly sound while saying weaknesses remain in ideology, organization and conduct.
Reuters reported that the anti-corruption drive has lasted more than a decade and involved millions of people across China’s bureaucracy. In a speech explaining the resolution, Xi said rigorous internal governance was necessary for the party to retain its character and convictions.
The fifth plenum had already put tighter oversight of party officials on the agenda, as EconoTimes previously reported.
