The issue of corruption in China is quite controversial. The fact that the instances of corruption are increasing regardless of taking decisive measures to combat it is the rationale for believing so. For instance, in the first half of 2017, 210 thousand officials were punished for corruption. Among them, 38 are senior officials – those occupying positions in ministries and provincial administrations – and more than one thousand are officials at prefecture levels (“China punishes 210,000 officials,” 2017). The same anti-corruption body – the Communist Party of China’s anti-corruption watchdog – punished more than 1 million corrupt officials (Zhang, 2017). Currently, corruption is a critical matter in different areas of social and business relations, including but not limited to the judicial system, police, public services, land, tax, and customs administration, public procurement, legislation, and natural resources (China corruption report, 2017). Therefore, it is a nationwide challenge.
To understand the causes and roots of corruption in China, it is essential to keep in mind the Chinese specificities of perceiving the concept. For the Chinese officials, corruption is “the improper use of public authority for private gain or advantage” (Wedeman, 2012, p. 2). From this perspective, regardless of the generally acceptable definition of the phenomenon, it goes beyond mere bribery. As for the roots of corruption, they are in the tradition or political power and understanding authority. It is connected to valuing hierarchies, and being at the top of this hierarchy is somehow directly associated with the increased corruption intentions. It is true in light of authority monopolisation in the hands of the Communist Party of China (Kwong, 2015). Faster economic development and the improvement of education made corruption-related schemes even more intricate and the whole system became more sophisticated (Cabestan, 2017). As a result, the issue of corruption is likely to remain powerful.
Such a significant problem could not but have deteriorating consequences. To begin with, it affects the economic potential of the country. Even though China is generally attractive to foreign investors, governments of numerous states (especially the most developed ones, such as the United States) recommend avoiding cooperation with China due to the challenge of excessive bureaucracy and corruption, which they are not used to (Wedeman, 2012). More than that, it affects the overall atmosphere in the social and political environment.
Finally, the ineffectiveness of anti-corruption measures the further aggravation of the problem. For this reason, to adequately address the matter and make China more attractive, developing more effective strategies is advisable. To begin with, anti-corruption measures should be strict, and all anti-corruption procedures should be transparent. Currently, the most common punishment for bribery and corruption is penalties. In this way, regardless of the common pointing to anti-corruption progress, these measures are too mild. The recommendation here is not to return to death penalties for bribery and corruption. Instead, transforming institutions to make them stronger by enforcing regulations may be helpful (Shepard, 2016). Also, strict measures, such as prison sentences impossible to avoid, would be a positive contribution to coping with the problem.
- Cabestan, J. P. (2017). Why corruption is here to stay in China. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com
- China corruption report. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/china
