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Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has persisted in self-reform and full and rigorous Party self-governance. Our Party has successfully blazed a distinctive Chinese path of combating corruption under the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, which takes comprehensive and integrated measures to address both symptoms and root causes. It promotes a tripartite approach of deterring, preventing, and resisting corruption in a coordinated manner, achieving remarkable results in anti-corruption efforts. However, the current fight against corruption remains a severe and complex undertaking, and the task of eradicating the breeding grounds and conditions for corruption is still arduous and onerous. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that “corruption is a major obstacle to the development of the Party and the country, and the fight against corruption is a crucial struggle that we cannot afford to lose and must win”(Xinhuanet, 2026). From 12 to 14 January 2026, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, stressing that “We must uphold and strengthen the Party’s overall leadership, promote full and rigorous Party self-governance with higher standards and more practical measures, implement the major decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee more resolutely and effectively, place power more scientifically and effectively within an institutional cage, and advance the fight against corruption more soberly and resolutely, so as to provide strong guarantees for the realization of the goals and tasks of the 15th Five-Year Plan period.”(Xinhuanet, 2026) To this end, “We must grasp the new trends and characteristics of corruption, innovate methods and approaches, refine the mechanism for implementing anti-corruption responsibilities, and promptly detect, accurately identify, and effectively address various forms of corruption, thereby continuously enhancing the penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts.”(Xinhuanet, 2026) How can we enhance the penetrative power of anti-corruption within the context of full and rigorous Party self-governance? This paper proposes to explore practical pathways for improving anti-corruption penetrative power from three dimensions: AI Empowerment, integrated oversight, and deepening cultural foundations.

1 AI Empowerment: Enhancing the Technological Penetrating Power of Anti-Corruption Efforts

How can we further refine the system for exercising full and rigorous governance over the Party? General Secretary Xi Jinping (2025: 508) emphasised: “We must adeptly employ internet technology and digital means to advance Party building, striving to achieve comprehensive coverage of Party organisations and Party work both online and offline.” He further noted: “We should promote the deep integration of artificial intelligence into people’s daily work, study and lives... creating more intelligent ways of working and living.” Similarly, employing big data monitoring systems, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology to innovate smarter anti-corruption approaches enables decisive and precise strikes against corrupt elements, leaving no room for them to harbour illusions of impunity. This enhances the deterrent effect of anti-corruption efforts and elevates their technological penetrative power. There are three primary pathways to achieve this:

1.1 Strengthening AI Empowerment for technology-driven anti-corruption.

In response to new developments and trends in the fight against corruption in recent years, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection that we must grasp the new characteristics and trends of corruption, innovate methods and approaches, refine the mechanism for implementing anti-corruption responsibilities, and promptly detect, accurately identify and effectively address various corruption issues, thereby continuously enhancing the penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts (Xinhuanet, 2026). In the era of digital intelligence, how can we promptly detect, accurately identify, and effectively address various forms of corruption, thereby continuously enhancing the penetrative power and deterrent effect of anti-corruption efforts while reducing opportunities for corruption? Applying AI to empower frontline anti-corruption work is undoubtedly a crucial means to achieve this. AI-enabled solutions can analyze public officials’ spending patterns, travel itineraries, and social networks to assist in identifying conflicts of interest and potential corruption risks. This significantly overcomes the historical lag in detecting corruption leads in actual anti-corruption practice. In recent years, faced with the high-pressure anti-corruption campaign, corrupt elements in certain sectors have devised elaborate means to evade disciplinary and legal sanctions. They have employed technological innovations to continuously upgrade their corrupt practices, such as using specific associates or “front companies” to hold assets in trust, manage affairs, or conduct operations on their behalf, thereby creating a buffer zone separating the exercise of power from personal gain. Meanwhile, corrupt actors have deeply intertwined their illicit activities with legitimate economic operations, market conduct, and civil legal relationships, rendering their misconduct increasingly covert. This has given rise to novel characteristics such as invisible mutation and the separation of rights and interests, alongside emerging patterns like “option-based corruption” and “delayed payouts”, further exacerbating the lag in uncovering leads during anti-corruption efforts. Employing AI Empowerment in anti-corruption efforts facilitates precise and decisive targeting, enhancing the effectiveness and penetrative power of anti-corruption measures. Precision is paramount in combating corruption, and AI serves as an effective means to achieve this.

On the evening of January 14, 2026, CCTV’s documentary series Never Stop, Never Yield an Inch aired its fourth episode, Technology Empowering Anti-Corruption, which delved into the case of Feng Jiang, former head of the Financing and Construction Division at the State - owned Assets Management Service Centre of Jiangshan City, Zhejiang Province. In this case, the Zhejiang Provincial Smart Supervision System for Tendering and Bidding, jointly developed by the Zhejiang Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision and the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, played a pivotal role. During its intelligent analysis of a Jiangshan municipal engineering project, the system flagged potential irregularities involving expert bias and collusive bidding practices. Following verification by the Jiangshan Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision, it was confirmed that the winning bidder had colluded with internal personnel through Feng Jiang, exposing the irregular operations. Furthermore, in the case of Li Yong, former Deputy Party Secretary and General Manager of China National Offshore Oil Corporation, data information became a crucial breakthrough. Through big data cross-referencing, corruption issues and bribe recipients surfaced at an unprecedented speed. Some viewers aptly described this as “AI hunting corrupt officials”. The application of AI Empowerment not only strengthens anti-corruption efforts but also serves as a potent deterrent. For instance, in cases involving cross-border corruption, virtual currency bribes, and other covert transactions, the application of AI has yielded breakthroughs in addressing traditional challenges such as “difficulties in locating evidence and establishing chains of evidence”. Consequently, AI significantly enhances the technological penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts in the era of artificial intelligence.

1.2 Applying Blockchain Technology for Smart Anti-Corruption

Corruption fundamentally stems from the misuse of power, lack of transparency in the exercise of public authority, and deficits in public trust. From the perspective of principal-agent theory, corruption arises when public officials abuse the power legitimately conferred upon them by citizens. Conversely, corruption itself erodes public trust in public officials and inflates the operational costs of government (Gao & Cheng, 2021). Given that governmental corruption originates from public officials’ abuse of power and betrayal of public trust, the inherent trust mechanisms embedded in AI technology itself mean that the extensive integration of artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain technologies into government affairs for intelligent anti-corruption initiatives will significantly enhance the technological penetrating power of anti-corruption measures, thereby helping to curb corrupt practices. As illustrated by the Feng Jiang case reported by CCTV, the application of an AI-powered intelligent supervision system provided novel and highly accurate sources of investigative leads. Relying solely on manual data sifting would have been akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. The introduction of AI-enabled intervention immediately struck at the heart of the matter, maximizing the penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts and rendering the process of tracing connections and unravelling complexities both clear and efficient. Conversely, AI-empowered intelligent anti-corruption efforts contribute to enhancing the transparency of public authority operations and government data.

As early as 1988, scholar Robert Klitgaard summarised the factors encouraging corruption in his renowned “corruption formula”: C = M + D − A, wherein corruption equals monopoly of power plus discretionary power, minus accountability (World Economic Forum, 2019). Transparency entails leveraging the inherent technological characteristics of artificial intelligence to foster effective accountability by reducing information asymmetry between public officials, regulatory bodies, and citizens—arising from monopolised power and its abuse—thereby effectively curbing corrupt practices. Blockchain, the most disruptive technology since the advent of the internet, provides a novel information technology infrastructure for smart governance. It elevates the intelligence of government administration, constructs institutional mechanisms that underpin “incorruptibility”, and achieves deep integration between technology and systems. For instance, “Blockchain 2.0”—marked by smart contracts—can eliminate manual verification steps in public service delivery, achieving automation. This significantly enhances the ability to detect nascent and potential corruption issues, drastically compressing the space for corruption and opaque dealings, with a pronounced deterrent effect. Similarly, the Shenyang Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision established a Big Data Case Investigation and Analysis Centre, developing the “Data Warfare Treasure” analytical system. By deeply applying such big data investigative tools to handle special cases, the system achieves “rapid, efficient, and precise investigation”. Big data technology has equipped investigators with an “intelligent brain”. Under the penetrating analysis of big data, corrupt acts, no matter how disguised, will be exposed and left nowhere to hide, leading to substantial improvements in the quantity, quality, and weight of cases handled. Moreover, at the level of fostering an aversion to corruption, leveraging AI Empowerment for intelligent anti-corruption efforts also facilitates a shift in integrity education from a blanket approach to targeted precision. This enables early intervention, educational warnings, and prevention before problems arise (Wang, 2026).

1.3 Using big data monitoring systems to implement “algorithmic oversight of power”

In the digital age, artificial intelligence algorithms are being extensively applied across social life and professional fields, emerging as vital auxiliary tools for public administration. The 15th Five-Year Plan period represents a crucial stage for China to basically realize socialist modernization. The full and rigorous governance of the Party faces new circumstances and tasks, and the fight against corruption confronts new challenges, which further underscores the importance of enhancing the penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts. Technology-driven anti-corruption, which utilizes big data monitoring systems to implement “algorithmic oversight of power”, facilitates a profound transformation in supervision approaches. The coordinated advancement of technology and the rule of law will effectively enhance the penetrative power and deterrent effect of AI-enabled anti-corruption efforts, enabling the fight against corruption to seize greater initiative and advantages, thereby providing a solid guarantee for achieving the goals of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. In practice, establishing a multimodal intelligent supervision system that adopts big data monitoring systems for “algorithmic oversight of power” enables precise perception and risk early warning of the exercise of power by government officials. Meanwhile, artificial intelligence algorithms improve the accuracy and efficiency of detecting financial irregularities among public servants, strengthen the timeliness and effectiveness of internal control warnings within the government system, and promote the formation of a collaborative supervision framework that integrates disciplinary inspection, supervision, and judicial algorithmic governance.

At present, disciplinary inspection and supervision commissions in several provinces and municipalities across China are leveraging artificial intelligence algorithms to explore a new model of “power supervision and case handling”, thereby forging new advantages in anti-corruption work through a dimensionality-reduction approach. This is mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1) “Big Data + Case Investigation”: Task forces quickly uncover evidence of corrupt officials abusing their powers to seek benefits for others in land transfer and other matters, and illegally accepting large bribes in the form of real estate and concealed assets. Big data algorithms have become a crucial tool in anti-corruption work. (2) “System Guidance + Integration”: The establishment of a new anti-corruption framework of “algorithm-based power supervision” has transformed the anti-corruption fight from “being at a loss” to “having a clear path”. For example, disciplinary inspection commissions at the provincial and municipal levels in Liaoning have developed practical toolkits including the “Big Data Supervision Model for Gift-giving via Parcel Delivery,” “Bank Transaction Organization Assistant,” “Data Governance Expert,” and “Case Acceptance Manager”, demonstrating remarkable capabilities empowered by big data. “Through the integrated application of systems, a large number of major cases that were previously difficult to solve have been investigated, and many problems that were hard to detect have been rectified.” (3) The integration of “big data and supervision” has shifted the focus from “post-incident investigation” to “public oversight”, enhancing the effectiveness of algorithmic supervision. (4) The application of “big data and disciplinary inspection” ensures the transparent operation of power, and embeds the concepts of “dare not to corrupt, cannot corrupt, and do not want to corrupt” into the public consciousness. “We must resolutely uphold integrity and self-discipline, and firmly abide by the legal and ethical boundaries and red lines.” The above-mentioned initiatives integrate financial, tax, property and immigration data through big data monitoring systems to build intelligent early-warning platforms. Algorithms then analyze abnormal transactions, asset flows and social networks to automatically identify clues of “hidden corruption”, realizing dynamic monitoring of the exercise of power and irregular behaviors of civil servants. This empowers disciplinary inspection and supervision work with stronger intelligence and capabilities, and significantly boosts the technological penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts.

2 Full Integration of Oversight: Enhancing the Integrated Penetrative Power of Anti-Corruption Efforts

Corruption is the cancer of politics, a grave affliction for the nation, and a serious ailment within the Party. Advancing the Party’s self-reform through full and rigorous Party self-governance and building a clean political ecology have always been our Party’s unwavering stance. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that the Party’s self-reform hinges on governing power, and confining power within the cage of institutions is a crucial task in advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance in the new era (Xinhuanet, 2026). The supervision of power is an eternal theme in political life, a vital mission in advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance in the new era, and a key issue in enhancing the penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts.

At present, the fight against corruption remains a severe and complex undertaking, with the political ecosystem suffering from serious contamination. This is primarily manifested in three aspects: firstly, the failure of power supervision over principal officials, which has undermined the atmosphere of intra-Party democracy; secondly, corrupt officials abusing their power for personal gain, thereby corrupting Party conduct and government ethics; thirdly, the rampant spread of liberalism, rendering Party discipline and regulations virtually meaningless. The root cause of these issues lies in the absence, weakness, disconnect, and ineffectiveness of power oversight. Consequently, the task of eliminating the breeding ground and conditions for corruption remains arduous and formidable. How can we maintain an unwavering high-pressure stance, ensuring that all corruption is investigated, all graft is punished, and all evils are eradicated, leaving no hiding place for corrupt elements? At the Fifth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, General Secretary Xi Jinping, overseeing the overall situation of full and rigorous Party self-governance and the fight against corruption, prescribed a remedy addressing both symptoms and root causes through systematic strategic thinking. This involves “making greater efforts to advance the integrated approach, strengthening the systemic perspective, enhancing coordination and cooperation, and linking all aspects of oversight to promote integrated governance through full-chain collaboration”(Xinhuanet, 2026). This prescription for enhancing the “penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts” charts a practical course for advancing “comprehensive oversight, full-chain collaboration, and integrated governance” through systematic thinking and scientific methods.

2.1 Promote the integration of intra-Party oversight and state oversight

Corruption poses the greatest threat to our Party. The paramount challenge in combating corruption in the new era lies in the oversight of power. This necessitates strengthening the self-supervision mechanisms of both the Party and the state, advancing the integration of intra-Party oversight with state supervision, and fostering full-chain collaboration and integrated governance through the practice of exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance and thoroughly eradicating the breeding grounds of corruption. At the state oversight level, the foremost priority is to elevate the status and role of state supervision through legislative measures. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, our Party has coordinated the advancement of the “Four Comprehensives” strategic layout and deepened the reform of the national supervision system. Notably, the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee further advanced state supervision within the framework of governing the country according to law. Following the 19th CPC National Congress, the National People’s Congress enacted the National Supervision Law, specifically establishing the supervisory commission as a functional department. This replaced administrative supervision with state supervision, thereby strengthening state oversight. Thus, through deepening the reform of the state supervision system, the “two interconnections” have been achieved: the interconnection between intra-Party supervision and state supervision, and the interconnection between disciplinary inspection and state supervision. This has strengthened the self-supervision of the Party and the state. Advancing the interconnection between intra-Party supervision and state supervision is a complex and arduous systemic undertaking.

Comrade Xi Jinping has pointed out: “To strengthen intra-Party oversight, we must adhere to, improve and implement the democratic centralist system, organically combining democracy with centralised decision-making and centralised guidance with democracy. We must fully mobilise oversight from higher to lower levels, between peers, and from lower to higher levels, ensuring that intra-Party oversight is effectively implemented and yields tangible results.”(Xinhua News Agency, 2016) To this end, emphasis should be placed on the following areas: Firstly, strengthening top-down oversight throughout the organization. We must thoroughly implement the Party’s organisational line for the new era, fully leverage the vital role of inspection work, improve the vertical supervision system, and establish an effective inspection and supervision mechanism to enhance the oversight function of Party organisations. Inspection teams dispatched by higher-level Party committees must coordinate and advance as an integrated unit, working in concert and ensuring seamless continuity. This involves optimising collaborative oversight among teams, coordinated oversight between departments and teams, and joint case handling among departments, teams, and local supervisory organs. This will better leverage the “probe” advantage of stationed oversight, advance oversight checkpoints, promptly identify and eliminate nascent risks, resolve the issue of “virtually no oversight beforehand”, and enhance the power of integrated oversight governance. Secondly, strengthen the bottom-up, comprehensive penetration of democratic oversight. Democratic supervision of higher-level authorities, particularly with regard to top leaders and leading bodies, remains a prominent challenge in the process of advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance. Prioritise oversight of top leaders, firmly grasping the “bull by the horns” of Party management and governance responsibilities. Standardise and enhance practices such as problem reporting, lead investigation, thematic consultations, and joint supervision inspections. Strengthen full-chain communication and collaboration in advancing full and rigorous Party governance to forge a cohesive oversight force. Party organisations and leading cadres at all levels must consciously and proactively accept oversight, become accustomed to exercising power under scrutiny, and effectively safeguard Party members’ democratic rights in accordance with regulations, fully mobilising their enthusiasm and effectiveness in democratic oversight. Thirdly, strengthen the integration of mutual oversight among peers. Supervision among peers constitutes a direct and effective method within intra-Party oversight. Comrades at the same level should focus on strict self-discipline and mutual reminders and assistance, offering mutual admonitions and oversight. They must rigorously uphold intra-Party political life, demonstrate the courage to adhere to principles, enforce accountability, strictly apply disciplinary rules, and strictly observe the Party’s political discipline. This will enhance their capacity and resolve to resist risks and prevent corruption.

2.2 Promote the integration of self-supervision and public oversight.

How can our Party successfully break free from the historical cycle of governance, chaos, prosperity, and decline? In July 1945, Mao Zedong put forward the answer during his conversation with Huang Yanpei, a democratic figure: “Let the people oversee the government.” How can we ensure that the Party will never change its nature, color, or character? Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping has proposed the solution of “the Party’s self-reform”. The core issue underlying both answers lies in the oversight of power by the people and through self-oversight. The oversight of power constitutes a major challenge that must be effectively addressed in the Party’s governance practices in the new era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Leading officials at all levels must keep in mind that no one shall possess absolute power beyond the law. All those who exercise power must serve the people, be accountable to them, and consciously subject themselves to their oversight.”(Xinhua News Agency, 2013) Self-oversight requires strictly regulating one’s own conduct. All Party members and officials must exercise strict self-discipline, guard against greed, curb selfish desires, uphold self-restraint and dedication to public service, cultivate moral integrity, rectify their mindset and clarify their principles, prevent minor issues from evolving into major ones, and always maintain their identity as public servants. They must earnestly use the power entrusted by the people to bring benefits to the people. They must exercise caution when alone, at the initial stage, in trivial matters, and against desires, fostering and enhancing their awareness and capacity for self-restraint, self-oversight, and self-control. This means remaining unshaken by the temptation of trivial gains and undazzled by the allure of various distractions. They must manage their social circles, acquaintance circles, and leisure circles, and consciously accept the oversight of the people. Self-oversight must be implemented concretely and thoroughly in all aspects and at every stage, thereby strengthening their immunity against corruption and moral degradation.

Self-oversight and public oversight form an organic unity and reinforce each other. In advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance, “to promote the Party’s self-reform, we must strengthen intra-Party self-oversight, refine all institutional mechanisms for intra-Party oversight, and continuously improve the intra-Party oversight system. We must consciously accept public oversight, effectively integrating intra-Party oversight with oversight by state organs, democratic oversight, judicial oversight, public oversight, and media oversight. This will achieve a virtuous cycle of mutual reinforcement between self-discipline and external discipline”(Xi, 2025: 502). Public oversight helps integrate forces across the entire anti-corruption chain and enhances the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts. As General Secretary Xi Jinping (2025: 505) stressed: “We must deepen integrated oversight across military and civilian sectors, extend the fight against corruption to the grassroots level and to the doorsteps of the people, crack down on petty corruption, and ensure that the people feel tangible benefits from our efforts.” In summary, only by integrating self-oversight with public oversight, ensuring their coordinated cooperation and integrated advancement, can we provide a strong driving force for effectively enhancing the penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts.

2.3 Promote the integration of institutional oversight and Party discipline and rules oversight

To exercise full and rigorous Party self-governance and advance the fight against corruption and integrity promotion within the Party in a rigorous manner, we must focus on the institutional, disciplinary and supervisory frameworks of the corruption punishment and prevention system. Without robust institutions that restrain power within institutional cages, corruption cannot be fundamentally curbed. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “To strengthen intra-Party oversight within the Communist Party of China, we must promptly translate practical explorations in Party building and enhanced intra-Party oversight into institutional outcomes, ensuring that the intra-Party oversight system keeps pace with the times, tightening the institutional cage to achieve clear responsibilities, well-defined subjects, effective systems, and tangible results.”(Xi, 2016)

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, our Party has integrated institutional and disciplinary development into all aspects of Party building. We have updated the Party Constitution in line with the times, advanced institutional innovation centered on strengthening Party leadership and Party building, accelerated the development of a comprehensive oversight system over the exercise of power, established a relatively complete system of intra-Party regulations, and built the “four beams and eight pillars” of the Party and state oversight system.

How to restrain power within the cage of institutions and discipline, thereby providing fundamental, comprehensive, stable and long-term safeguards for Party building in the new era, necessitates advancing the integration of institutional oversight with Party discipline and regulatory oversight. Specific measures are as follows:

First, strengthen institutional oversight over the exercise of power. Intensify system implementation by organically integrating oversight and inspection, target assessment, and accountability mechanisms. Fulfill primary responsibilities, with special focus on managing Party member leading cadres, especially senior officials and principal leading officials, ensuring no exceptions in Party governance and eliminating blind spots or gaps. Reinforce the primary responsibility of Party committees (leading Party members’ groups) at all levels for exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance and the supervisory responsibilities of disciplinary inspection commissions at all levels, to ensure full-chain accountability. Party committee (leading Party members’ group) secretaries must shoulder primary responsibility, while other members of the leadership team earnestly fulfill their dual responsibilities. All Party members and cadres must exercise their rights and perform their duties in accordance with regulations, ensuring authority matches responsibility. Failure to fulfill responsibilities must be addressed, and abuse of power must be held accountable. Pressure is transmitted layer by layer, and responsibilities are interlinked at every stage, effectively enhancing the sense of responsibility and mission in governing the Party, thus forming a strong institutional supervisory constraint.

Second, ensure the organic integration of governing the Party through institutions and governing the Party in accordance with regulations, with coordinated and synergistic oversight. Apply governance concepts, systemic thinking, and dialectical reasoning to the Party’s self-governance, self-regulation, and self-development. Ensure institutional oversight covers all aspects: wherever Party oversight extends, systems for full and rigorous Party self-governance must be established, and the strategic guidelines for full and rigorous Party self-governance must be earnestly implemented. Meanwhile, ensure oversight covers all subjects, extending to Party organizations at all levels and all Party members, so that institutions and discipline govern and regulate the entire Party, with particular focus on the “key minority”.

Third, fully integrate Party discipline and statutory oversight, embedding their requirements throughout the entire process, all aspects, and all levels of full and rigorous Party self-governance. On the one hand, “taking the Party Constitution as the foundation and democratic centralism as the core, we must continuously improve the system of intra-Party regulations and oversight, enhance the authority and enforceability of intra-Party regulations and oversight, and use institutional oversight and Party discipline and regulations to promote the integration and coordination of the system of full and rigorous Party self-governance, thereby truly achieving governance by institutions and governance in accordance with regulations”(Xi, 2025: 487-488). On the other hand, “taking the study and implementation of the newly revised Regulations on Disciplinary Actions of the Communist Party of China as an opportunity, we must carry out a concentrated discipline education campaign throughout the Party. Strengthen oversight and inspection of key regulations and systems to ensure unified adherence and implementation”(Xi, 2025: 504-505).

Furthermore, efforts should be made to integrate social oversight with media investigations and public opinion supervision, ensuring these mechanisms operate in tandem and synergistically. On the one hand, improve whistleblower protection and reward systems, utilize internet platforms to expand public oversight channels (such as the “one-click reporting” mechanism with real-name protection), and invigorate social oversight. On the other hand, adapt to the rapid development of new media, strengthen media investigations and public opinion supervision, and commission third-party professional institutions to conduct independent audits and compliance reviews on major projects or sensitive departments. This will establish a multi-dimensional oversight network that integrates with intra-Party supervision, enabling full-chain collaboration and unified advancement, thereby forming an integrated and penetrating anti-corruption capability.

3 Cultivating a Strong Cultural Foundation: Enhancing the Value Penetrating Power of Anti-Corruption Efforts

Exercising full and rigorous governance over the Party and cultivating and advancing the “cultural soft power” that blocks the ideological roots of corruption will undoubtedly enhance the value penetrating power of anti-corruption efforts. Communist Party of China members have always undertaken the mission of inheriting and promoting fine traditional Chinese culture. They are its steadfast inheritors and disseminators. Cultivating the Party’s cultural resources for “self-revolution” is a multidimensional undertaking. These resources can be inherited and developed through multiple channels: the dialectical materialist philosophy of Marxism; the rational tradition of Western self-awareness, as exemplified by the ancient Greek maxim “Know thyself”; the innovative application of the tradition of self-reflection embedded in China’s fine traditional culture; the cultivation and development of integrity culture in the new era; and the unification of people’s minds and wills through the guiding principles of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

3.1 Creatively apply the tradition of self-reflection in Chinese culture

Self-reflection constitutes a profoundly significant method of “self-revolution” in traditional Chinese culture. This distinctive approach to self-cultivation emphasizes “self-contemplation,” “self-examination,” “self-restraint,” and “self-purification”. It entails regularly scrutinizing one’s thoughts, words, and deeds against universally recognized cultural and ethical principles, discerning their merits and shortcomings, distinguishing between virtue and vice, and thereby continuously elevating one’s moral character and spiritual attainment. As exemplified in The Analects: “If one examines oneself inwardly and finds no guilt, what is there to worry or fear?” “When one sees the virtuous, one should aspire to emulate them; when one sees the unvirtuous, one should examine oneself inwardly”, and the well-known practice of “I examine myself three times daily” all exemplify this method of self-cultivation. Similarly, passages such as “Renew yourself daily, daily renew yourself, and renew yourself again daily” from The Great Learning, and “When actions fail to achieve their purpose, one must look inward for the cause” from Mencius, emphasize the importance of constant self-examination and reflection. Furthermore, the statement in Records of the Grand Historian: The Biography of Shang Yang that “He who listens inwardly is called wise; he who sees inwardly is called clear; he who conquers himself is called strong” underscores the necessity of courageously confronting one’s own shortcomings and actively correcting them. From the Song and Ming dynasties onwards, Wang Yangming further developed this tradition of self-reflection. He stated: “One must understand that the moment a thought arises, it is already an action. If an unwholesome thought arises, one must suppress it completely, rooting it out thoroughly so that no trace of that unwholesome thought remains hidden within. This is the foundation of my teachings.” He demanded constant vigilance, using the principles of right and wrong, good and evil, to keep oneself alert. Thus, from “he who conquers himself is strong” to “preserving heaven’s principle and extinguishing human desires”, and further to “destroying the inner enemy”, all embody the spirit of self-revolution in traditional Chinese culture. The tradition of self-reflection in China’s outstanding cultural heritage is profoundly rooted and far-reaching in its influence. Our Party stands as the most steadfast inheritor and genuine propagator of this outstanding tradition. Since its founding, it has creatively applied the tradition of self-reflection from China’s excellent cultural heritage as a vital component of its Party ethics. Through “upholding the essence while innovating”, our Party has adapted this tradition to the political commitment of “self-revolution” in the new era. It rigorously requires Party members and officials to remain true to their founding mission, constantly reflecting on “who I am, for whom I work, and on whom I rely”, thereby upholding and preserving the true character of Communists. Transforming the profound and enduring tradition of self-reflection within the Chinese nation into a sharp blade for the “self-revolution” of every Party member and cadre enables them to courageously identify and resolve their own shortcomings in a timely manner, thereby building a robust cultural defense against corruption.

3.2 Cultivate and develop a culture of integrity in the new era

General Secretary Xi Jinping (2019) admonished the whole Party: “It is no easy feat to practice frugality and exercise self-restraint after assuming state power, maintain vigilance and integrity throughout one’s tenure, govern officials with strict discipline and combat corruption and extravagance in times of peace, or align with the tide of history and the will of the people at critical junctures of major transformation.” How can we eradicate the breeding ground for extravagance and corruption? Relevant discussions emphasize that the construction of a culture of integrity in the new era takes education on Party spirit, Party conduct, and Party discipline as its core approach. It aims to carry forward the Party’s fine traditions and work styles, cement the ideals and beliefs of Party members and officials, and strengthen their sense of shame at a deep ideological level. This helps foster a conscious resistance to abuse of power and corrupt practices. The Opinions on Strengthening the Development of a Culture of Integrity in the New Era, issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, emphasized: “The Party Central Committee attaches great importance to fostering a culture of integrity, stressing that opposing corruption and building a clean political ecology constitute our Party’s consistent and clear-cut political stance. This represents a major political task that must be pursued persistently as part of the Party’s self-revolution.”(General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, 2022) Developing a culture of integrity in the new era constitutes a vital component of exercising full and rigorous party self-governance, possessing significant guiding value for the Party’s self-revolution. Different cultures embody distinct realms and aesthetic standards, reflecting the people they represent and their modes of existence. As Mr. Liang Shuming observed: “Consider what culture truly is—it is merely the manner in which a nation lives.”(Liang, 2021: 352) A “culture of integrity” embodies the behavioral values of being upright and free from corruption—internally detached from fame and fortune, externally untainted by corruption. Its core lies in establishing an ideological and moral defense against corruption through three mechanisms: value guidance, institutional regulation, and cultural immersion. This transforms the political character of integrity and the “great virtue” of pragmatic service to the people into the intrinsic consciousness of Party members and officials. At the practical level, this requires deepening education on Party spirit, conduct, and discipline; upholding the Party’s glorious traditions and fine work styles; and inspiring Communist Party members’ noble ideals. It emphasizes that “for leading cadres to be strong, they must first be incorruptible. Integrity relies on self-discipline, thrives on persistence, and proves most challenging in achieving thoroughness”. Members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee must take the lead in upholding integrity and practicing self-discipline, spearheading the implementation of political responsibilities for Party governance and oversight. They must rigorously promote the improvement of Party conduct and the building of a clean government in their respective fields or administrative regions, resolutely combat all forms of misconduct and corruption, and foster a sound political ecosystem (Xi, 2025: 479-480). Concurrently, emphasis must be placed on family values, education, and conduct. Leading officials must be urged to exercise strict oversight over their families, relatives and staff, and matters within their sphere of influence, ensuring that these individuals never exploit their authority or influence to secure improper benefits. In daily life, we should actively promote the principles of integrity and exemplary models of probity to foster a positive social ethos that reveres integrity and rejects corruption.

3.3 Unite the people and forge their soul with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

The ideals and convictions of Party members form the value foundation underpinning a political party’s formidable organizational strength, cohesion, and combat effectiveness, serving as the ideological bedrock for maintaining unity and solidarity. General Secretary Xi Jinping (2013) has emphasized: “The decline of a political party invariably commences with the loss or absence of its ideals and convictions.” For a period, the cadre ranks witnessed political degeneration, economic greed, moral decay, and corruption, inflicting significant damage on national governance. Ultimately, this stemmed from the erosion of ideals and convictions. To address these issues, advancing full and rigorous Party self-governance and the fight against corruption on the new journey demands vigorous efforts to eradicate the ideological and cultural breeding ground for corruption, while persistently driving forward the Party’s self-revolution. Firstly, it is imperative to persistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to unite and inspire Party members and cadres, arming the whole Party with its innovative theories. This involves educating and guiding Party members and cadres to deepen their understanding and transformation, drawing nourishment from the firm ideals and convictions embedded within the theory. Strengthening Party spirit cultivation, elevating spiritual horizons and moral standards, and continuously enhancing the resolve for the Party’s self-revolution and the ideological penetration of the anti-corruption struggle are essential. Secondly, we must improve the innovative theoretical education system that strengthens the Party’s foundation and forges its spirit. Grasping scientific theories and consolidating ideological foundations provides a solid underpinning for exercising full and rigorous party self-governance. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we must prioritize theoretical study to elevate the whole Party’s grasp of Marxism. Persistently strengthening Party spirit education, we combine fortifying Party spirit with enhancing capabilities, thereby establishing a long-term mechanism to forge spirit through learning, enhance wisdom through learning, rectify conduct through learning, and promote action through learning. This has powerfully promoted unity across the Party in politics, ideology, and action. It has further guided Party members and officials to transform the Party’s innovative theories into firm ideals and convictions and powerful spiritual motivation, and to translate the strategic guideline of exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance into conscious actions of self-revolution.

Enhancing the penetrative power of anti-corruption efforts within the framework of full and rigorous Party self-governance is fundamentally a combination of AI-driven technological advancement and institutional refinement, achieving seamless integration between technological empowerment and oversight mechanisms. To enhance anti-corruption penetrative power, efforts should focus on achieving the “four penetrations”: penetrative technology, penetrative systems thinking, penetrative oversight, and penetrative institutional synergy, so as to realize full-chain penetration and collaboration across the entire process of “supervisory integration—precise detection—effective investigation—root-cause governance”. This integrated advancement transforms our Party’s institutional advantages in anti-corruption into formidable governance efficacy in penetration. However, while enhancing anti-corruption efficacy by “penetrating technological barriers”, attention must be paid to the risk of “overstepping boundaries”—namely, ensuring AI data security and privacy protection, and balancing oversight with individual rights in technology-driven anti-corruption efforts to prevent data misuse.

The core of “penetrative” anti-corruption technology lies in the comprehensive aggregation and in-depth analysis of data; significant data security challenges accompany this process. First, there is the risk of external attacks: as the discipline inspection and supervision system holds a vast amount of high-value data, it is a prime target for hackers; any data breach could undermine case investigations and damage public trust. Second, there is the risk of internal leaks: if supervision data is not properly managed at every stage—whether due to internal staff exceeding their authority or lapses in safeguarding outsourced operations—this could have serious negative consequences. While AI technology enhances the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts, it also presents a dilemma regarding privacy protection. The large-scale collection of supervisory data in the fight against corruption inevitably encroaches on the boundaries of personal privacy, thereby threatening the data privacy of those under supervision. Information regarding public officials’ education, career progression, family background, and assets is easily exposed through online doxxing, leading to the indiscriminate disclosure of the privacy of their relatives and friends. This involves a series of infringements on personal reputation and may even lead to crimes such as extortion. The construction of large-scale anti-corruption databases also faces a “conflict between regulations on comprehensive data aggregation and the protection of personal information”—for example, situations where personal safety cannot be effectively guaranteed due to the leakage of personal information. How to achieve effective oversight while avoiding undue infringement on the legitimate rights and interests of public officials has become an ethical dilemma that must be addressed. The application of AI Empowerment in anti-corruption efforts has strengthened the capacity for “technology to constrain power”. Still, it has also brought the risk of the alienation of supervisory authority. Technological empowerment may lead supervisory bodies to become overly reliant on technical means, creating a “technological Leviathan” that subjects public officials to continuous, all-encompassing surveillance, resulting in the expansion and abuse of supervisory powers (Du & Lu, 2024).

In light of the multifaceted ethical risks—encompassing data security, privacy protection, and the abuse of power—emanating from the aforementioned “overstepping boundaries”, it is imperative to propose corresponding preventive measures and ethical principles. Mitigating these security risks and safeguarding citizens’ data privacy are pivotal to realizing the full potential of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the fight against corruption. First and foremost, a comprehensive legal framework governing data security and privacy protection must be established. For information pertaining to national security embedded within corruption-related data, a tiered management approach should be adopted in strict accordance with the provisions of relevant laws and regulations. Security classifications should be defined with national security protection as the core priority, and such information should be subjected to specialized management with hierarchical access and usage permissions. To mitigate issues such as the expansion of supervisory authority and data misuse, it is essential to establish a clear “technology for public good” orientation. AI-driven supervision is designed to augment human oversight; technology serves merely as a means to an end, and enhancing supervisory efficacy must not come at the cost of human dignity and fundamental rights. Secondly, algorithms must be governed by the principle of data security, with privacy protection and other value-based mandates integrated into their design to achieve “value-sensitive design”. Finally, public education regarding ethical risks and citizen participation must be strengthened to enhance public understanding of intelligent supervision mechanisms, associated risks, and preventive measures. This, in turn, will bolster trust in anti-corruption efforts and foster a collective force of social supervision. Only by regulating technology through institutional frameworks, disciplining algorithms through ethical principles, and constraining power through fundamental rights can we “penetrate technological barriers” while upholding the bottom line of “boundary integrity”. This will ensure that the use of AI to empower anti-corruption efforts truly evolves into a positive force driving the modernization of national governance, rather than a destructive force eroding individual rights and social trust.

In summary, the concept of “enhancing anti-corruption penetrative power” represents a significant exposition first put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping during the critical period of advancing socialist modernization. It signifies a higher-level measure to advance full and rigorous Party self-governance and the “three-pronged approach to preventing corruption” (making integrated efforts to ensure that officials do not have the audacity, opportunity, or desire to become corrupt). As a key focus in the work plan of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for the opening year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, it will undoubtedly facilitate the timely detection, accurate identification, and effective governance of various corruption issues, thereby providing robust safeguards for achieving the goals and tasks of the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

References

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Appendix 1 Transliteration of Core Terms in Chinese and English