Since 2012, Xi Jinping has engaged in a massive anti-corruption campaign. This presentation will discuss the nature and the purpose of this campaign and how it relates to Xi’s concentration of power.

Xi’s anti-corruption campaign is aimed at both his enemies and fighting corruption and is remarkably different from that launched during the first two years of the Hu Jintao era (2002-2004). There have been more purges and they have occurred at a faster pace, at higher rank levels, in more diversified bureaucratic systems. The purges have also been tougher on political rivals and longer in period.

However, as in the past, almost no princelings and the top leader’s close associates have been officially accused of corruption or inappropriate working style. On the whole, the campaign helps Xi to concentrate power without breaking down the principle of collective leadership.

The presentation concludes by explaining how Xi’s past experience and personality affect his decision-making behavior. It claims that the 19th Party Congress of the CCP in 2017 will be a crucial event marking the future of Chinese leadership politics – collective leadership or strongman politics.

About the Speaker

Kou Chien-wen, is a professor at National Chengchi University (NCCU), the Director of its Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies and the Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the NCCU. His major research interests include Chinese politics, political elites and comparative communist studies. Professor Kou is the author of two books on Chinese elite politics and numerous articles on major international journals.