Xi Jinping to go after ‘ants and flies’ as he intensifies his crackdown on firms

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to go after “flies and ants” as part of an intensifying anti-corruption campaign that will target industries such as finance, energy and infrastructure.

Hong Kong/Taipei (CNN) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to go after “flies and ants” as part of an intensifying anti-corruption campaign that will target industries such as finance, energy and infrastructure. China will tackle “hidden risks” and increase the punishment for people who offer bribes, Xi was quoted as saying at a Monday meeting of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), its top anti-graft body, state media reported. “While there had been an overwhelming victory in the decade-long anti-corruption push, the situation remains complex,” Xi said. “In the face of such [a] complex situation, there can be no stopping, slacking or compromising on anti-corruption.” We will “deepen the rectification of corruption in power-concentrated, capital- intensive and resource-rich sectors,” he said. The party will “punish the ‘corruption of flies and ants’ to give the masses a greater sense of gain,” he added. Since Xi assumed power in 2012, he has been going after both “tigers,” high ranking officials, as well as “flies,” lower level cadres. The reference to flies and ants refers to corruption by small players or smaller-scale corruption that is easier to conceal. The campaign, which is Xi’s signature project, has swept across the ruling Communist Party, the government, the military and state-owned companies in waves. Now it will also target state-owned enterprises and the pharmaceutical sector.