BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping (pic) called on military brass to improve oversight to help investigate and address instances of corruption, a top priority as he looks to beef up development of the country’s armed forces.
Speaking to delegates from the People’s Liberation Army and People’s Armed Police Force, Xi stressed that supervision should take a more prominent role, including better auditing processes, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday (March 7), citing his remarks at the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
Cleaning up government has been a priority for Xi since he came to power in 2012. Anti-corruption campaigns have ensnared a record number of senior officials in recent years. In December, the former party chief of an economic development zone in Inner Mongolia’s Hohhot was executed for corruption.
The Chinese military specifically has seen a purge involving top officers and generals. The US Defence Department has said previously that the corruption probes could hinder Beijing’s goals for modernising the country’s armed forces.
Xi also called on the military to improve cost-effectiveness and allocation of funds on national defence, according to Friday’s report.
Beijing is set to increase its defense spending by some 7.2 per cent to about 1.78 trillion yuan (US$246 billion) this year, the Finance Ministry said in a report released Wednesday at an annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing. - Bloomberg
