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Unclassified

Office of the Director of National Intelligence

March 2025

Wealth and Corruption Activities of the Chinese Communist Party Leadership

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Table of Contents

• Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 2
• Wealth and Corruption Activities of the Chinese Communist Party Leadership …………………………………………. 3
• Corruption and Anti-Corruption ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3
• High-Level Corruption …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 5

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Executive Summary

This report is provided by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) pursuant to Section 6501 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Pub.L. No. 117-263).

This unclassified report addresses the wealth and corruption activities of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership.

This report was drafted by the National Intelligence Council and the National Intelligence Officer for China.

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Wealth and Corruption Activities of the Chinese Communist Party Leadership

Corruption is a long-standing feature and challenge in China, rooted in:

• The high concentration of power in the CCP,
• The CCP’s dominant concept of the rule of law,
• The lack of independent oversight of public officials,
• Limited information transparency.

In 2012, Xi Jinping launched a large-scale anti-corruption campaign, which in the following years investigated and convicted nearly five million government officials at all levels. In China, corruption usually involves different forms of bribery or embezzlement. Public research shows that some officials and their families have used their positions to accumulate a large amount of wealth.

However, Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign is not just about eliminating corruption, but more deeply a party-led “securitization” measure, that is, targeting high-level officials with loose political discipline and impure ideology, to ensure the CCP’s domestic control and legitimacy.

Due to China’s lack of transparency, the widespread existence of government censorship, and the financial information of leaders not being made public, it is challenging to study corruption issues or the personal wealth of leaders.

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Corruption and Anti-Corruption

Academic research shows that corruption has existed since the founding of China, and was particularly serious during the high-speed economic growth of the 1980s and 1990s. Many scholars believe that since 2000, corruption has widely penetrated the entire system, and even threatened the legitimacy of the regime.

Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Campaign

In 2012, after Xi Jinping came to power, he launched a large-scale anti-corruption campaign, vowing “zero tolerance” and cracking down on **“flies” (low-level cadres) and “tigers” (high-ranking officials)**.

• From 2012 to 2022, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and the National Supervisory Commission investigated nearly five million government officials and CCP members, and convicted 4.7 million officials.
• Xi Jinping emphasized that government officials must achieve **“dare not be corrupt, cannot be corrupt, and do not want to be corrupt”**.
• The campaign not only cracked down on corruption, but also became a tool for Xi Jinping to consolidate power within the party and eliminate political opponents.
• In 2024, the campaign targeted more than 50 senior government officials.

Structural Problems of Corruption

China’s level of corruption varies by region and government level. Research shows:

• 8% to 65% of officials (depending on the level) accept bribes or illegal income.
• About 50% of Chinese officials are involved in corruption, especially at the local government level.
• Research shows that bribery can increase an official’s legal income by 4 to 6 times, and senior officials profit more from power transactions.

The Institutional Roots of Corruption

Corruption is widespread in China, mainly due to the following institutional factors:

• The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CDI) lacks independence and is only responsible to the CCP party organization, making it easy to be used for political purges.
• Local governments are required to achieve economic growth targets, but decision-making power is decentralized, leading officials to easily exploit policy loopholes for corruption.
• Members of elite organizations such as the National People’s Congress (NPC) can obtain sensitive government information, and the cost of joining is high, leading many officials to obtain positions through bribery and use their powers for personal gain.

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High-Level Corruption

Although corruption remains prevalent at the top levels of the CCP, it is difficult for the outside world to obtain conclusive evidence due to strict government censorship.

Wealth of High-Level Families

In 2012, news investigations found that families of senior leaders had accumulated huge wealth:

• The family of Wen Jiabao (including his mother, wife, son, and siblings) controlled at least $2.7 billion in assets.
• Xi Jinping’s siblings, nephews, and nieces held more than $1 billion in assets in commercial investments and real estate.
• These studies did not directly confirm that these leaders themselves participated in or promoted the growth of family wealth, but their positions can provide political and economic advantages to family members.
• After Xi Jinping came to power, he may have asked family members to liquidate some assets, but as of 2024, his family still holds millions of dollars in commercial investments.

High-Level Corruption Cases

• 2020: Businessman Zhang Wei was arrested for organized crime, illegal detention, and possession of firearms and ammunition.
• 2019: Chen Gang (member of the Party Leadership Group of the China Association for Science and Technology) was investigated for receiving more than $18 million in bribes, some of which may be related to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games construction project.
• 2024: Yao Qian (Director of the Technology Supervision Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission) was investigated for “serious violations of laws and disciplines,” which may be related to the digital currency project of the People’s Bank of China.

Corruption in the PLA

Corruption in the military is still serious, and the culture of selling official positions still exists. Xi Jinping emphasized in 2024: “The gun barrel must be in the hands of those who are loyal and reliable to the Party.”

• 2023: Defense Minister Li Shangfu was dismissed, and at least 10 current or former officers of the Rocket Force were investigated.
• 2024: Miao Hua, Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China, was investigated for “serious violations of discipline.”
• Xi Jinping’s confidants were also not spared, showing the severity of the anti-corruption campaign.