China plans new law to restrict business activities of civil servants

It will be the first systemic legislation restricting current and ex-officials from dealings in the private sector

A senior graft-buster made the announcement in state media but did not give a time frame

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President Xi Jinping in October vowed to follow up on legislation to fight corruption. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00pm, 16 Jan 2023

A senior Chinese anti-corruption official has announced that new legislation is planned to restrict the business activities of current and former civil servants.

“[We will] push forward national legislation on fighting corruption, and stipulate restrictions on civil servants … [from engaging in] part-time work, business activities, and employment after [they leave the job],” Xiao Pei, deputy director of top anti-graft body the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, wrote in state-run People’s Daily on Monday.

It will be the first systemic legislation restricting civil servants from dealings in the private sector and is part of a long-running campaign under President Xi Jinping to stem corruption.

Xiao Pei, deputy director of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Photo: Simon Song

Xiao’s article did not mention if there was any time frame to introduce the legislation.

In October, Xi pledged to follow up on legislation to fight corruption when he delivered a work report at the Communist Party’s twice-a-decade national congress, but he did not elaborate on what it would entail.

A Beijing-based expert on the party’s anti-corruption drive noted that there had been efforts at different levels of the CCDI to regulate the behaviour of civil servants.

“[But] this is the first time the matter will be dealt with in a way that’s systemic and clear,” said the expert, who requested anonymity since they were not authorised to talk to media based outside mainland China.