‘It’s a question of Party discipline’

In October, shortly before its Central Committee’s plenum, the Chinese Communist Party expelled nine generals, including He Weidong, the second-highest ranking official in China’s military. The Chinese government released a statement saying the generals “were suspected of serious duty-related crimes involving an extremely large amount of money, of extremely serious nature, and with extremely detrimental consequences.”

These are only the latest in a series of high-profile corruption cases in China. Back in 2023, the Central Military Commission cited corruption as it ousted two defense ministers in quick succession. Civilian functionaries haven’t escaped corruption charges either. In 2024, Chinese authorities arrested Tang Renjian, the former minister of agriculture and rural affairs, on charges of corruption. In the same year, the Chinese government says, its top anti-corruption agency investigated a record 58 high-ranking officials.

Business leaders have also come under investigation. In 2023, a court in Jinan found the former chairman of China Life Insurance, Wang Bin, guilty of taking bribes. In 2024, China Everbright Group’s former chairman Tang Shuangning received a 12-year prison sentence for corruption and bribery.

According to the Financial Times, in 2024, local authorities in China detained senior employees of more than 80 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges. So many executives have gone missing that the Chinese government now says some of these cases might involve local cadres extorting businesses. As Premier Li Qiang put it, “Instances of abuse of administrative discretion and unfair enforcement persist in certain areas and sectors.”

The campaign shows no signs of slowing. In June 2025, the Party dismissed Admiral Miao Hua, head of the political work department of China’s Central Military Commission—one of the highest-ranking officials purged since the 1960s. A year ago, at the Central Discipline Inspection Commission’s annual plenum, President Xi Jinping said the CCP must persevere in the “tough, protracted fight against corruption,” calling it “the biggest threat to our Party.”

Is it?

Jiangnan Zhu is an associate professor of politics and public administration at the University of Hong Kong and the author of the forthcoming book Bribery as a Third Path to Power? Political Selection in China Beyond Performance and Patronage. In China, Zhu says, corruption has traditionally been thought of as abuse of public power, and law enforcement has traditionally opted not to prosecute private entrepreneurs for bribing public officials—only the public officials for taking the bribes. This recent spike in the number of business leaders under investigation for corruption represents a break with that way of thinking: The Party is now telling officials not to overlook private corruption. On one level, Zhu says, the Chinese government is simply trying to root out corruption—nothing wrong with that. But there are political motivations in play, too. Anti-corruption work is carried out by Party officials hewing close to Beijing’s line—and when there’s a new round of corruption prosecutions, it’s usually because the Party leadership wants it. Xi is using these corruption investigations to impose discipline on officials serving under him, suggesting these cadres’ ultimate crimes aren’t taking bribes …

Gustav Jönsson: What kinds of people are facing these corruption charges in China?