Xi Jinping's Anti-Corruption Campaign Disciplines Millions Ahead of Fifth Plenum

President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign has disciplined over two million officials and cadres since 2012, with 983,000 individuals sanctioned in 2025 alone, as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Fifth Plenum approaches from October 26-29, 2026[5][13][23][9]. The sustained campaign aims to ensure the Party's survival and integrity, while also serving as a method to enforce loyalty and consolidate Xi's authority[4][9][17][18].

What the records show

The anti-corruption campaign, initiated by Xi Jinping upon becoming General Secretary of the CCP in November 2012, has targeted both high-ranking "tigers" and lower-level "flies"[5]. By 2023, approximately 2.3 million government officials had been prosecuted[5]. Between 2012 and 2022, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission investigated nearly five million people, finding 4.7 million officials guilty[16]. Disciplinary actions have escalated in recent years: 889,000 individuals were disciplined in 2024, rising to 983,000 in 2025[13][15][23]. In 2025 alone, 1.012 million cases were filed[13]. Hundreds of senior officials, including dozens at the ministerial level, hundreds at the deputy ministerial level, and five national leaders, have been targeted[5]. The campaign has also reached deep into the military, leading to the dismissal of nine military officers in March 2026 and the expulsion of China's second-highest ranking general and eight other senior officials in October 2025 on corruption suspicions[1][14].

The timeline

Xi Jinping launched the anti-corruption campaign in November 2012[5]. In January 2014, he stated that "preventing the party from being corrupted in its long term rule of the country is a major political mission"[2][24][25][26][27]. The Party enshrined the concept of "lifelong responsibility" for officials in 2016, allowing them to be held accountable even after retirement[6][12]. By Xi's second term, the campaign's focus shifted to include lower-level officials more prominently[5]. In January 2026, Xi described corruption as "the greatest threat to the Party" and the anti-corruption fight as "the most thorough kind of self-reform"[4][7]. The Fifth Plenum, set for October 26-29, 2026, is expected to deepen this campaign[9][10].

What changed and for whom

The campaign has reshaped governance within the CCP. It centralized oversight and discipline enforcement by enhancing the authority of the CCDI and establishing the National Supervisory Commission[18]. This has led to the investigation and punishment of over two million Party/State cadres between 2013 and 2017[6]. The resolution on Party self-governance expected at the Fifth Plenum will likely tighten intra-party rules to ensure officials "dare not, cannot, and do not desire to be corrupt," demanding absolute loyalty to Xi[9]. The military has seen significant purges, with five of the seven members of the Central Military Commission toppled by October 2026[11][20]. The approach to fighting corruption is increasingly framed as a "long-term and institutionalised" effort, moving away from periodic crackdowns[10].

What the subject has said publicly

President Xi Jinping has consistently emphasized the nature of the anti-corruption fight. In January 2014, he declared, "preventing the party from being corrupted in its long term rule of the country is a major political mission. And we must do it right"[2][24][25][26][27]. More recently, in January 2026, he identified corruption as "the greatest threat to the Party" and characterized the anti-corruption drive as "the most thorough kind of self-reform"[4][7]. Xi has also stressed the need for political loyalty in the military, stating in March 2026, "There must be no one in the military who harbors disloyalty to the (ruling Communist) Party," and affirmed, "The fight against corruption must be resolutely pushed forward"[1].

What we could not confirm

We could not independently confirm the precise motivations behind every individual case of corruption investigation, particularly whether an investigation was solely for corrupt activities or also served to remove political rivals, as suggested by analysts[1][14][17].