CHINA: China has the most billionaires than any other country, as per the Hurun Global Rich List, but Chinese billionaires must at the same time be watchful of their times due to underlying risks. On Friday, Fu Xiaodong, a former senior official at China Development, was convicted and would face a ten-year jail sentence for his acceptance of 4.3 million yuan as bribes between 2007 and 2020.
But as Xi redoubles his efforts to purge and rein in leaders in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and elsewhere, this week’s conviction prompted a series of inquiries by China’s anti-corruption body. Yuen Yuen Ang, a professor at John Hopkins University and an author, says that in China, “intense scrutiny” has become the “new normal”. He adds, “The campaign extends beyond fighting graft and enforcing ideological conformity with the party line.”
The flagship policy has been the anti-corruption drive for Chinese President Xi. According to the Chinese president, corruption is a threat. A little over 180,000 officials faced punishment in the first year of Xi’s rule, up from almost 160,000 the year prior. In the subsequent ten years, the party’s anti-corruption efforts commission controlled 3.7 million cadres, including approximately one per cent of the leaders at both the provincial and federal levels.
Xi does not trust the financiers and their dedication to the party. China had approximately $4tn in international reserves, which declined to one quarter within the next few years. Zhu Jiangnan of the University of Hong Kong mentions, “Top leaders, including President Xi, have repeatedly emphasised preventing corruption in areas with high capital intensity.”
It’s becoming increasingly common to look into larger fish. According to Zeren Li of Yale University, local authorities were the main targets of the anti-corruption campaign in its early years. But in recent years, central departments and specialised examinations, like the most recent one on financial matters, have emerged into prominence.
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