Beijing, China

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China's President Xi Jinping has urged the Communist Party to “turn the knife inward” to address issues of indiscipline, particularly corruption, as part of a renewed effort to root out corrupt officials and their enablers.

Since assuming power over a decade ago, Xi has led an extensive anti-corruption campaign targeting both senior "tigers" and lower-level "flies" who undermine government policies. However, corruption remains a persistent problem within the party, especially in the military.

In the past two years, two former defence ministers have been expelled from the party for “serious violations of discipline,” a term commonly used to refer to corruption. Just last month, the defence ministry revealed that an admiral who served on the Central Military Commission, China’s top military command body, was also under investigation for similar allegations.

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Figures from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection show that last year alone, around 610,000 party officials were disciplined for breaching party rules. Among them, 49 were high-ranking officials at or above the vice-minister or governor level.

Xi's comments about “turning the knife inward” were part of a speech delivered on 8 January at a significant meeting of the party’s anti-corruption watchdog. However, the speech was only made public on Monday (December 16) through excerpts published by Qiushi Journal, a leading party publication.

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Xi stressed the importance of addressing internal challenges within the party as circumstances evolve. “As the situation and tasks facing the party change, there will inevitably be all kinds of conflicts and problems within the party,” he said.

“We must have the courage to turn the knife inward and eliminate their negative impact in a timely manner to ensure that the party is always full of vigour and vitality,” Xi added.

(With inputs from agencies)