Xi says China's anti-graft battle far from over

BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that the fight against graft still had challenges ahead.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks at the fifth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).

Xi said anti-graft work in 2014 was "effective" and that the campaign was a matter of life-or-death for the Party and the nation.

The CPC has bravely fought corruption with "a strong sense of responsibility to the future", "a deep commitment to its missions and an awareness of the risks", Xi said.

The CPC is championing "zero tolerance" of corrupt members, as a warning to officials to neither "dare nor want to" violate Party discipline.

Xi praised the CCDI for its achievements. Taking stock of 2014, Xi said, the CPC had rectified undesirable work styles and strengthened disciplinary enforcement by making inspections more frequent.

The Party invested greater efforts in addressing the root causes of corruption and reforming its inspection system, Xi added.

The CPC resolutely dealt with high profile cases -- he cited Zhou Yongkang, Xu Caihou, Ling Jihua, Su Rong, among other corrupt high-ranking officials -- which demonstrated to the world a head-on approach to correcting mistakes, or "self-purifying".

However, Xi warned, the battle has not yet been won.

Corruption has not vanished, he said, adding that although mechanisms had been put in place, they were not perfect: As temptations remain.

Xi said there were still many tough challenges ahead to reshape the political environment, therefore, the fight must continue to move.

Nevertheless, Xi concluded: "We will win the fierce and protracted war against corruption and build a clean Party and government."