Why China’s anti-graft watchdog is a stepping stone to higher office

One Communist Party office in China makes more headlines domestically and internationally than any other, and that’s the party’s anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

In the past five years, its crackdown on corruption and campaign against conspicuous consumption have swept aside political factions at the national and local levels and restored party doctrines harking back to the days of Mao Zedong. Party members have not only been punished for receiving bribes, but also for using their legitimate income to stage extravagant wedding parties for their children.

But ensuring political loyalty is the commission’s primary task in party general secretary Xi Jinping’s war against factional politics, and Xi’s key ally in that war is Wang Qishan, the CCDI’s chief since 2012.

Wang has appeared in public far less often than predecessor He Guoqiang, but understands the value of good publicity. The commission’s propaganda office was founded on his watch three years ago and has had plenty to brag about, with Wang netting roughly twice as many corrupt officials as He did in his second five-year term.

Riding on Wang’s coattails, some former associates have been promoted to important offices spearheading Xi’s campaign, which is designed to shore up the party’s legitimacy, and some subordinates at the CCDI have gone on to provincial governorships, something rarely seen before.