China’s campaign against corruption has achieved “overwhelming momentum”, President Xi Jinping said on Wednesday at the start of a critical Communist Party congress expected to cement his authority. Speaking to more than 2,000 delegates in Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People, including 91-year-old former president Jiang Zemin, Xi praised the party’s success, particularly his high-profile anti-graft campaign. “The fight against corruption has formed an overwhelming posture and strengthened in development,” Xi said in a speech carried live across the nation on state television. Xi has consolidated power swiftly since assuming the party leadership in 2012, locking up political rivals for corruption, restructuring the military and asserting China’s rising might on the world stage. Focus at the congress will be on how Xi plans to put his expanded authority to use.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 18, 2017 02:03 UTC