Building a Clean World Free from Corruption

Remarks by Zhao Leji, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Against Corruption on June 2

Mr. President,

Dear Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends,

Today, the United Nations General Assembly convenes its first ever special session on combating corruption. This is an important milestone in the history of the global fight against corruption.

China was the first to sign the Charter of the United Nations and also one of the first to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). China highly commends the UN for its efforts and contributions in preventing and combating corruption, and firmly supports the Convention in serving as the main channel for global anti-corruption governance. We welcome the adoption of a political declaration at this special session, and will work with all parties to take the global cause against corruption to a new stage.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government stand unequivocally against corruption. We have kept improving the socialist oversight system with Chinese characteristics and exploring effective ways for the CPC to purify itself as the long-term governing Party. These efforts have won the wholehearted endorsement and overwhelming support of the Chinese people and provided strong guarantee for China's enduring peace and stability and sustainable development.

First, we have strengthened the centralized, unified leadership and fought corruption with a strong resolve and great tenacity. The political resolve and courage of the leadership is extremely important for pressing ahead with the anti-corruption work. President Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the fight against corruption, and the CPC Central Committee exercises centralized, unified leadership over all anti-corruption efforts and attacks all forms of corruption with an extraordinary resolve and determination. This is the strongest political guidance and guarantee for our anti-corruption endeavor.

Second, we have made sure that all acts of corruption are tackled with zero tolerance. The CPC Central Committee has made exercising full and rigorous governance over the Party part of its comprehensive strategy to ensure no no-go zones, no ground and no tolerance for corruption. Multi-pronged measures have been adopted to "take out tigers", "swat flies", and "hunt down foxes". A sweeping victory has been secured and consolidated in all respects of the anti-corruption endeavor.

Third, we have taken a people-centered approach and resolutely tackled corruption and misconduct involving the people's most immediate interests. With rigorous oversight and inspection, we have made major strategic gains in fighting COVID-19 and achieved a full victory in eradicating extreme poverty, giving the Chinese people a stronger sense of fulfillment, happiness and security. According to China's National Bureau of Statistics, 95.8 percent of the Chinese people are satisfied with China's anti-corruption endeavor.

Fourth, we have followed the rule of law in both thinking and action to eradicate the audacity, capacity and desire to commit acts of corruption. We have deepened reform of disciplinary inspection and supervision systems and set up supervisory commissions at all levels to institute a centralized, unified, authoritative and efficient oversight system with complete coverage. We have adopted a holistic approach to address both symptoms and root causes of corruption, and combined law-based punishment, institutional checks, and education and guidance to make our anti-corruption governance more effective.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

China is an active participant in and contributor to global anti-corruption governance. We have fully carried out our obligations under the Convention. We contributed to the adoption of the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption by APEC and the High-Level Principles on Cooperation on Persons Sought for Corruption and Asset Recovery by the G20. We put forward the Beijing Initiative for the Clean Silk Road to deepen clean Belt and Road cooperation. We have stepped up international cooperation on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery, and in this process established good cooperation with many countries. Due to changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century, the interests of all countries have become more intertwined. Cooperation is needed, more than ever, in fighting corruption. Here, I would like to share some thoughts on international cooperation against corruption:

First, we must uphold fairness and justice by punishing wrongdoings while promoting good conduct. The international community needs to forge broad political consensus, take a zero-tolerance attitude toward corruption, build zero-loophole institutions, carry out zero-barrier cooperation, and press ahead with cooperation on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery and on foreign business bribery. We must oppose all acts of providing safe havens to the corrupt or to the proceeds of corruption under whatever excuses.

Second, we must respect differences and promote equality and mutual learning. We need to respect the sovereignty and political and legal systems of each country, respect their right to choose their own ways of fighting corruption, and foster an international partnership for anti-corruption cooperation that is based on equality, respect for differences, exchanges and mutual learning, and common progress. We must oppose the use of "long-arm jurisdiction" or even interference in other countries' internal affairs in the name of fighting corruption.

Third, we must pursue mutually-beneficial cooperation through extensive consultation and joint contribution. We need to uphold multilateralism and improve the set of rules in global anti-corruption governance on the basis of consensus-building. We need to follow the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and conduct anti-corruption cooperation within the framework of the Convention. China welcomes the efforts led by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to set up a Global Operational Network of Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Authorities, and looks forward to deepening practical cooperation under this global network.

Fourth, we must honor commitments and put action first. It is important that Parties to the Convention honor their solemn commitment of fighting corruption together and fully fulfill international obligations. Commitments should be matched with actions that deliver, and should not be fulfilled or broken on a selective basis. It is also important to extensively conclude treaties on extradition and on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, to remove barriers to cooperation on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery and to deny safe haven to the corrupt.

In recent years, China has provided support to more than 60 anti-corruption agencies of developing countries and relevant international organizations. China will continue to make voluntary contribution within its capacity to the UNODC, the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) and other organizations, and contribute to the anti-corruption capacity-building in fellow developing countries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Corruption is a common enemy of humankind, and to fight corruption is a just cause of all countries. Let us join hands to follow the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind and build a clean world free from corruption.