Corruption in the People's Republic of China

Corruption in China post-1949 lies in the "organizational involution" of the ruling party, including the Communist Party of China's policies, institutions, norms, and failure to adapt to a changing environment in the post-Mao era caused by the market liberalization reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping. Like other socialist economies that have undertaken economic reforms, such as post-Soviet Eastern Europe and Central Asia, reform-era China has experienced increasing levels of corruption.

Cadre corruption in China has been subject to significant media attention since Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping announced his Anti-corruption campaign following the 18th National Congress which was held in November 2012. Despite this high-profile anti-graft drive, in 2014 China was ranked No.100 in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, which is 20 places lower than 2013, when it ranked No.80. This puts China on par with Algeria and Suriname, and comparable to Armenia, Colombia, Egypt, Gabon, Liberia, Panama, Bolivia, Mexico, Moldova and Niger. China ranked less corrupt than neighbours Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, North Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal but more corrupt than neighbours New Zealand, Singapore, India, Bhutan, Macau, Hong Kong and Mongolia. Means of corruption include graft, bribery, embezzlement, backdoor deals, nepotism, patronage, and statistical falsification.

Public surveys on the mainland since the late 1980s have shown that it is among the top concerns of the general public. According to Yan Sun, Associate Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York, it was corruption, rather than democracy as such, that lay at the root of the social dissatisfaction that led to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Corruption undermines the legitimacy of the CPC, adds to economic inequality, undermines the environment, and fuels social unrest.

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