Wu Guangqiang

    jw368@163.com

    CHINA’S economic and social progress has constantly faced a barrage of suspicion, taunts and detractions from home and abroad.

    Even its efforts to curb widespread graft, a measure widely supported by its people, have met criticism. One of the most typical viewpoints is that the ongoing anti-graft campaign has resulted in the economic slowdown and that it will lead to China’s collapse.

    Those who hold this view argue that a prolonged battle against corruption has so frightened many officials at various levels that they have chosen to do less than do more in their work to avoid possible graft suspicion. In addition, the harsh suppression of officials’ extravagant consumption with public funds has delivered a heavy blow to industries such as catering, hotel, and high-end booze. Many luxurious restaurants have closed down and some five-star hotels have suffered low occupancy rates since the beginning of the anti-corruption drive.

    Seemingly in support of this argument, Bank of America Merrill Lynch issued a report last April estimating that China’s anti-corruption campaign would knock at least 0.6 to 1.5 percent off the country’s economic growth rate in 2014. The consequent loss of US$135 billion is about the size of Bangladesh’s economy.

    It’s undeniable that the anti-graft battle, one of unprecedented proportions, has affected some businesses, especially those that provide luxurious goods and services, hence bringing growth rates down a bit.

    However, the ill-starred boom fueled by the “corrupt economy” was doomed to burst, and the practice of quenching a thirst with poison must be stopped, even if it will cause temporary losses. In the past few years, such social evils as power-for-money deals and collusion between government officials and businessmen did help inflate the economic growth bubble, but the cancer of corruption jeopardized the fundamental interests of the country and will devastate its economy in the long term.

    Over the years, while corrupt officials and gracious merchants indulged themselves in profligacy and extravagance, causing the prices of Moutai and housing, to skyrocket, the common people found that their days got increasingly rougher. Social justice, cleanness and integrity were eroded, social morality ruined and mass discontent was building up.

    China has no choice but to win the battle against corruption. The battle will not slow economic growth in the long run, but, instead, will inject new impetus into development. The effective containment of graft will stimulate the vitality and creativity of society, thus putting the nation’s economic growth on the track of “a new normal.”

    The anti-corruption drive will produce numerous tangible benefits for economic growth. Stopping official extravagance and waste will channel more public funds into better investments that will improve people’s lives. A cleaner and more effective government will facilitate the smooth implementation of the country’s policies and enhance executive efficiency, thus promoting economic growth.

    Actually, there have been some positive signs of progress in China’s economic restructuring despite the record low growth rate in 2014. China’s economy is gaining new vigor through the surging wave of popular entrepreneurship and mass innovation.

    An expert with the Asian Development Bank commented, “China is achieving encouraging advancement in its economic restructuring, and its economic growth is increasingly dependent on domestic demands and consumption.”

    China’s leadership is adamant about pushing through the anti-graft war. At a meeting at the annual session of the National People’s Congress (NPC), it was noted that Jiangxi Province made remarkable strides in economic and social development in 2014. President Xi Jinping said, “Clearly, the anti-corruption campaign will promote sustainable economic growth.”

    It’s a public consensus that China will not win the anti-corruption war merely by firm determination. Institutional construction is the solution. China is planning to develop national legislation to fight corruption, top legislator Zhang Dejiang, chairperson of the NPC Standing Committee, said while delivering a work report at the annual session of the top legislature.

    Harsher punishments will be imposed on those committing crimes of embezzlement and bribery, said Zhang.

    Time will prove that all the suspicions about China’s ability to win the anti-corruption war are groundless.

    (The author is an English tutor and freelance writer.)