China starts new round discipline inspection

BEIJING -- All 15 discipline inspection teams have been sent to 30 provincial-level regions, ministry-level agencies and state-owned enterprises, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said Saturday.

It marks the start of the first round of such inspections conducted by the 19th CPC Central Committee, the CCDI said in a statement on its website.

The Party organizations to be inspected include those of Hebei and Guangdong provinces, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs, and China National Nuclear Corporation.

The inspectors will stay in the units until late May and receive tip-offs about suspected discipline violations by leading officials.

Twelve rounds of regular inspections were conducted during the term of the 18th CPC Central Committee.

According to the CCDI, more than 50 percent of investigations into centrally-administered officials were a result of information found by discipline inspectors, since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.