China’s anti-corruption campaign has intensified with the investigation of ex-Politburo Standing Committee member and former head of public security, Zhou Yongkang. With this latest move against one of his fiercest rivals, Xi Jinping has given the clearest indication yet of his dominance of the top echelon of Chinese politics and may well have set the stage for future institutional reforms.

ON THE 29th of July 2014, the Central Discipline and Inspection Commission (CCDI) in Beijing finally confirmed what had been an open secret in the Chinese political landscape: it announced that Zhou Yongkang – a member of the previous Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) – was under investigation for serious violations of the party constitution, a euphemism for corruption, thus sounding the death knell of one of China’s most feared political heavyweights.

In breaking with all precedents in indicting a former leader who had been on the top rung of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and thereby sending out the message to the party rank and file that no one was untouchable in the current anti-graft campaign, Xi Jinping has given a clear signal that the fight against corruption will be a hallmark of his administration. More significantly, Xi has also underscored his position as primus inter pares at the apex of China’s political leadership.

… James Char is a Research Analyst with the China Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU).