Punishing and preventing corruption is a "serious political battle" for both the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the country, according to a report of the Party's discipline watchdog released in Beijing Monday.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CPC on Monday published the full text of its report submitted to the 18th CPC National Congress, which concluded on November 14.

The document said the anti-corruption campaign has made headway over the past five years, and a basic system for punishing and preventing corruption has taken shape, with the spread of improper behavior in certain fields being reined in.

The report stressed "at a time when the world, China and the CPC are undergoing profound changes, challenges the CPC faces are of lasting, complicated, and grave nature, such as in governance, carrying on reform and opening-up, steering market economy and withstanding outside pressures.

"Dangers facing the Party have become more prominent, such as a sit-back-and-relax mentality, incompetence, disconnection with the people, and corruption," it continued.

According to the report, corruption cases occurred frequently, particularly in certain regions and government departments, some of which involved huge sums of money and many corrupt officials. Those involving medium and high-ranking officials exerted threatening influence.

The document pointed out that corruption had become more complicated and camouflaged, while supervisory and prevention systems were still fledgling. This resulted in difficulties in discovering and investigating cases.

The report went on to add that some officials leveraged their power for illegal gains for their spouses, children, other relatives and people who work with them.

A minority of officials even lost faith, lacked spirit to endure hardship, distanced themselves from the public, indulged in formality, bureaucracy and extravagance; and a handful of officials even defied and violated the law and Party disciplines, the publication said.

The report called on efforts to fight corruption while adhering to the CPC's leadership, giving full play to the political advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2012)