An inspection into decadence will focus on leading officers of the Communist Party of China (CPC) within the military, vice chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission (CMC) Xu Qiliang said.

Xu, also head of the guidance group of the CMC inspection campaign, made the comments on Monday at a meeting where special CMC inspectors were announced and groups set up.

Xu told inspection groups to conduct their work scientifically, strictly and lawfully while cooperating with disciplinary departments.

"High-level Party committee units and their members - especially principal officials - should be the key targets of the inspection," Xu said. 

The inspection will start by the end of this year, according to the Beijing Youth Daily. After two years of running inspection pilot programs, the CMC has made an overall plan for the inspection campaign, expanding the inspection system from the Party to the army.

"The move is also part of CPC anti-corruption efforts," Zhang Xixian, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, told the Global Times Wednesday. "Military forces must keep clean governance to boost their combat power."

Zhang also noted the difficulty in anti-corruption work in the army. "Soldiers are required to follow orders, not to challenge them. It will be more difficult to supervise the activities of the person in charge in the army. Military inspection teams could learn from the experience of the Party inspection, but they need to be more careful when implementing the methods," said Zhang.

Zhang's opinion was echoed by Song Zhongping, a military affairs commentator in Beijing.

"In the military, leading officers always have more power and the final say. It's almost impossible to get their colleagues on the same level or lower officers to supervise them," Song told the Global Times. "Inspection from top to bottom could ensure the anti-corruption work is carried out thoroughly."

The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) has dispatched a second batch of inspection teams. Previous inspection teams were sent out to provincial regions, State-owned enterprises and universities in May, with all of them reporting corruption problems.

"Military inspection teams must also follow the code of confidentiality," Zhang noted, "It is very likely that the result of the inspection and the contact information of the inspection will not be made public."

However, Song believes there is still some room for "publishing limited information."

According to a key reform road map published on Friday, China plans to optimize the size and structure of the army and reduce noncombat institutions and personnel.

Xinhua contributed to this story