BEIJING -- The Communist Party of China has mapped out institutional arrangements to keep the power of officials in check and advance its fight against graft and misuse of power in a systematic manner.
The CPC, founded in 1921, has clearly defined in national laws the legal boundaries of what officials can and cannot do. In addition, the Party had over 3,000 regulations in force as of 2025, forming a robust institutional framework to regulate the exercise of power.
The eight-point decision on improving official conduct sets clear rules for officials' work practices, including research trips, meetings and documentation, while curbing extravagance and abuse of privileges.
In late October, a resolution on persevering with full and rigorous Party self-governance, adopted at the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, outlined further measures to strengthen checks on and oversight over the exercise of power.
The resolution called for improving relevant institutions and mechanisms to ensure that the delegation, exercise and oversight of power are better coordinated, with powers and responsibilities clearly defined, procedures transparent and records traceable.
It proposed to strengthen ongoing monitoring of corruption-related risks and hidden dangers and establish mechanisms for coordinating early warning of and punishment for corruption.
Since 2012, the anti-corruption storm has swept every corner of public office, netting both high-ranking "tigers" and lower-level "flies". Over the years, discipline inspection and supervisory organs nationwide have filed over 8 million cases and punished nearly 8 million people, including 963 officials registered with and supervised by the CPC Central Committee.
One key factor behind the achievements has been the effort to put power in an institutional cage, including the establishment of a nationwide supervisory system to bring everyone in public office, regardless of Party membership, under supervision.
The resolution underscored efforts to improve the Party and state supervision system and refine inspection methods.
The inspection system, a key instrument of intra-Party oversight, allows higher-level Party authorities to send teams to examine how officials exercise power and carry out the central leadership's policies. Inspectors interview officials and members of the public, review documents and receive complaints. They report their findings to Party authorities.
Innovating inspection methods could involve better coordination of different forms of inspection, the use of a wider range of oversight tools, and the application of new technologies.
In recent years, by integrating data from multiple government departments and using big data analytics to identify anomalies and trace hidden connections, disciplinary and supervisory authorities have been able to uncover cases involving misappropriation of public funds, fraudulent claims for government subsidies and the abuse of public office for private gain.
A system is only as strong as its implementation. The resolution emphasized the need to enhance the binding force of institutions and ensure that all are equal before institutions.
