Nip the investment corruption in the bud

China's 7 percent economic growth in the first quarter is within market expectations.

Some people argue that the authorities must take into full consideration the negative influence of the ongoing anti-corruption campaign on the economy, given that infrastructure investment, which has long played a central role in driving national economic growth, has been greatly affected by the corruption crackdown.

It is true that China's economy has been investment and exports driven, and that government-led infrastructure investment has played a vital role in this process. However, in a bid to make innovation the driver of China's economy, the new leadership introduced the "new normal" concept of slower, but higher quality, growth. This is because the central leadership is acutely aware that the traditional growth mode has not only caused the exhaustion of national resources, it has also exerted a huge burden on the environment and is thus unsustainable.