FIGHTING against corruption according to the law is a hallmark of China’s anti-corruption campaign since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， convened in 2012； and creating a sound， law-based supervisory system is a key focus and task of China’s efforts to establish a system of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics and comprehensively advance law-based governance. In 2018， both the government and the CPC stepped up the formulation of laws and Party regulations for the fight against corruption.
A solution that addresses the root cause of corruption lies in better supervision of power and institutional prevention of the abuse of power. Since 1954， when the first Constitution of the People’s Republic of China was adopted， China has been implementing the people’s congress system， which， differing from the separation of powers and checks and balances， features democratic centralism in the structure of state power and state organs. Supervision is an important means of restraining power for the exercise of democratic centralism. With great emphasis on supervision， China has put in place a multicomponent supervisory system that includes disciplinary supervision， supervision by the people’s congress， judiciary supervision， legislative supervision， auditing supervision， and supervision by the procuratorate for corruption and dereliction of duty.
However for many years， with the supervisory power in different authorities， implementation of the aforementioned supervision mechanism and measures overlapped and was fragmented. As a result， political resources were scattered and squandered； there existed supervisory power of varying levels and status in the system of state power which impaired the effect of restraining power； the absence of top-level design led to uneven intensity and even blind spots of supervision， giving rise to corruption.
In order to effectively prevent and punish corruption， we need to deepen reform of the national supervision system to overhaul and integrate supervisory power， build a centralized， unified， and efficient supervision system of great authority， ensure the independence and raise the status of supervisory power. Thereby we can make supervisory power a check and balance on decision-making power， hence forming a mechanism that restrains power with power.
Improving the Setup of Supervisory Organizations and Strengthening Anti-Corruption Agencies
