Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered to intensify the fight against corruption and disciplinary violations in 2026. According to data from the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, released on January 17, law enforcement punished a record 983,000 people in 2025. This is 10.6% more than in the previous year and is the highest figure in the last two decades. This is stated in the WSJ material, writes UNN.
Details
The main goal of expanding the supervisory powers of inspectors is to ensure unquestioning implementation of decisions by the top leadership before the launch of a new five-year economic plan. Xi Jinping called corruption “the main obstacle to the nation’s path” and called for the decisive removal of bureaucrats who sabotage or distort Beijing’s policies.
Particular attention is paid to regions where officials “blindly follow trends” – for example, investing in semiconductor or electric vehicle production without proper local conditions, which the party press calls “distorting good intentions.”
Fighting bureaucratic inertia
Despite mass repressions, Beijing faced the problem of “inaction”: more than 140,800 people were punished for inaction or deception last year. Local officials often fear making decisions due to the risk of being investigated. Xi Jinping said that “honest mistakes” in performing tasks can be justified to stimulate initiative.
Since Xi Jinping came to power in late 2012, the total number of punished people has exceeded 7.2 million. Analysts note that the current purges have evolved from a fight against bribery into a large-scale instrument of coercion to personal loyalty to the leader and his strategic course.
