No immunity: how Xi’s anti-corruption fighters are zeroing in on fresh targets

China’s anti-graft push has expanded to those who once felt shielded, from retired cadres and local bosses to the investigators themselves

It used to be an easy choice for senior Chinese officials deciding between a local government position and a post at the same level in Beijing.

Most would choose the assignment outside the capital, as fewer supervisors around meant more clout and a bigger say in local affairs. As the Chinese saying goes: “The mountains are high and the emperor is far away.”

In fact, according to a tally by the South China Morning Post, among the most senior tier of officials targeted in the anti-corruption campaign between 2013 and 2025, 60 per cent were taken down while in regional government roles.

The SCMP looked at all publicly known officials targeted by the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Most of them belonged to a pool of officials known as “centrally managed cadres”, meaning they typically held ranks at the deputy ministerial level or above. A smaller number of them held slightly lower ranks but occupied sensitive positions in important sectors.