Abstract

This article provides an overview of the decades-long fight against corruption in China, focusing on its trajectory, dynamics, and impact. Corruption has long been a threat to China’s social stability, its economic development, and even the legitimacy of the regime. Equally notable are the numerous efforts made by successive generations of the Chinese leadership to control and prevent corruption. While goals may have remained the same across different periods, anti-corruption strategies and methods have changed considerably, moving from sporadic campaigns to more institutionalized methods and from power-driven rectification to rule-based integrity management. The current anti-corruption drive, launched after Xi Jinping took power at the 18th National Party Congress in 2012, not only has demonstrated novel features, suggesting a multi-pronged approach, but also is unprecedented in its breadth, depth, and severity. What are the dynamics of China’s fight against corruption? Has the increasingly intense crack-down been able to contain corruption? How can we understand the impact and effectiveness of anti-corruption enforcement in China? The six articles, including this one, in this special issue provide answers to these questions.

Citation

Gong, T., & Tu, W. (2022). Fighting Corruption in China: Trajectory, Dynamics, and Impact. China Review, 22(2), 1-19.