Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasized the need to exercise Party self-governance with higher standards and more concrete measures to provide a strong guarantee for achieving the goals and tasks of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period. He made the remarks while addressing the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) in January.

Since Xi was elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, an unprecedented campaign has seen over 80 intra-Party regulations issued or revised, embedding strict, rules-based governance and transparent power oversight. In 2025 alone, disciplinary authorities initiated 1.01 million investigations and imposed penalties on 983,000 individuals. This sustained drive underscores the CPC's commitment to self-reform, fostering the clean environment essential for high-quality development.

The CPC, China's governing party, has more than 100 million members. Its highest leading bodies are the five-yearly CPC National Congress and the Central Committee it elects. The CCDI, also elected at the CPC National Congress, is the Party's top disciplinary body that enforces internal rules and leads anti-corruption efforts.

Five-year plans are comprehensive blueprints for China's development, outlining goals, strategies and priorities for each five-year period. As the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan, 2026 sets the tone for the journey ahead.

The recent meeting emphasized that the fight against corruption remains grave and complex, demanding a strong resolve and an unwavering tough stance. To translate this resolve into action, the meeting charted a clear course. For instance, all efforts should center on applying the new development philosophy that calls for innovative, coordinated, green, open and inclusive growth, thereby securing a smooth launch for the 15th Five-Year Plan. Supervision will be sharply focused to root out corruption in key sectors such as finance, energy and state-owned enterprises. The campaign will deepen its reach to tackle the misconduct that affects daily life, i.e., the corruption at people's very doorsteps.

Moreover, it was emphasized that leading officials must be under effective supervision, and power itself must be locked within more well-conceived and robust institutional frameworks. Enforcing strict Party discipline and enhancing its self-governance capacity will keep Chinese modernization on the right path and ensure the steady progress of national rejuvenation.