China’s Communist Party convened an early monthly Politburo meeting on Friday to review a key internal inspection report, doubling down on its high-pressure anti-corruption campaign ahead of a major party conclave next week.
Chaired by President Xi Jinping, the now 21-member Politburo met on Friday – earlier than its traditional end-of-month schedule – to discuss a comprehensive report on the seventh round of inspections by the 20th Central Committee.
The latest inspection is a major internal anti-corruption sweep focused specifically on top-level central party and government organs. Launched in April, 15 central inspection teams carried out routine inspections across 36 vital central state institutions, including core political, legal and government ministries.
The meeting on Friday called for the “stern rectification” of problems uncovered within central government and state organs, demanding a sustained high-pressure posture against corruption and an unyielding commitment to strict party governance, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The central authorities should “strictly fulfil the political responsibility for managing and governing the party, implement all tasks of full and rigorous self-governance of the party with higher standards and more concrete measures, maintain a high-pressure stance against corruption, strictly adhere to a rigorous tone through to the end, and build politically sound agencies with a clean and healthy atmosphere,” the report said.