The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 16, 2022. Photo:Li Hao/GT

Declaring that the Communist Party of China (CPC) has achieved an overwhelming victory and fully consolidated the gains in its fight against corruption, Xi Jinping warned at the opening session of the 20th National Congress of the CPC that "as long as the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption still exist, we must keep sounding the bugle and never rest, not even for a minute, in our fight against corruption." 

Observers said that the messages delivered at the opening session not only demonstrate the Party's determination of keeping up the strong momentum of the anti-corruption battle so that it never changes its nature, but also its courage and systemic advantages of self-reform and self-improvement, so as to avoid the historical cycle of rises and falls, and cement its support among the people. 

Xi said in a report at the opening session of the 20th CPC National Congress on Sunday that serious hidden dangers inside the Party, the country and the military have been removed.

"We have waged a battle against corruption on a scale unprecedented in our history. Driven by a strong sense of mission, we have resolved to 'offend a few thousand rather than fail 1.4 billion' and to clear our party of all its ills," Xi said. 
He pointed out that corruption is a cancer to the vitality and ability of the Party, and fighting corruption is the most thorough kind of self-reform there is.  

As long as the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption still exist, we must keep sounding the bugle and never rest, not even for a minute, in our fight against corruption, Xi said.

The Party has found a second answer to the question of how to escape the historical cycle of rises and falls. The answer is self-reform, ensuring that the Party will never change its nature, its conviction, or its character, Xi said.

A research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Political Sciences, who requested anonymity, said that the "strongly worded" messages — including "keep sounding the bugle on anti-corruption"— delivered by Xi on Sunday make it clear that the anti-corruption fight will still be conducted in full swing in the future. 

"It's also a firm response to a few people's doubts that there will be a slacking in fighting corruption, since we already made big strides in this area. This fight will not stop, nor slow down," said the expert.

China has made shining achievements in fighting corruption since the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012. 

Sun Yeli, spokesperson for the 20th National Congress of the CPC, said at a Saturday press conference that from the 18th National Congress of the CPC to June this year, discipline inspection commissions all over the country have investigated 4.52 million cases of corruption, during which 4.44 million people were punished.

Xiao Bin, a professor in the department of political science of Sun Yat-Sen University, told the Global Times that anti-corruption has been further "institutionalized" after the 18th National Congress of the CPC, which included the setting up of a national supervisory commission in 2018, and he expected more measures and policies to be rolled out to enhance the supervision of Party members after the 20th National Congress of the CPC. 

Experts also hailed the Party's determination and courage of self-reform and self-improvement. The Party's centralized and unified rule provides strong systemic and institutional guarantees of self-supervision among the Party.

"Fighting corruption is vital for the country's political development, it guarantees the Party never loses its nature and cements its support among the people. The battle is not seeking just to repair a few 'trees,' but rather to improve the 'ecology of the whole forest,' which is the Party and the country," said the anonymous expert. 

The country will next focus on key areas and sectors, take firm action to "take out tigers," "swat flies," and "hunt down foxes," in order to win the critical battle against corruption, said spokesperson Sun at the Saturday press conference.