Two Birds, One Policy: The Establishment of the National Supervisory Commission as a Factional and Centralizing Tool

Abstract

Xi Jinping has made “anti-corruption” campaigns a hallmark of his leadership. The campaigns promise to target both “tigers” - senior party, government, and military leaders - and “flies” - local party and government officials. This practice has included a drastic restructuring of China’s anti-corruption and judicial agencies, culminating in their centralization under the National Supervisory Commission (NSC) in 2018. Many scholars have debated whether Xi’s campaigns and the NSC are genuinely intended to combat corruption or are instead a tool to eliminate political opponents and consolidate power. The NSC’s establishment is considered in relation to the two predominant models of anti-corruption drives conducted in China, the “Chongqing” model, and the “Guangzhou” model. By deliberately reproducing the Chongqing model’s accountability defects, eliminating political opponents appears to be a core objective of the NSC’s establishment. However, owing to its centralized nature, the NSC also strengthens the central party’s power over local authorities. Local party branches are far less trusted by the population than their national counterparts. Thus, strengthening the party’s credibility - including a genuine attempt to decrease corruption - and strengthening local government oversight appears to be another objective of the NSC’s establishment.