In the past five years, the CPC’s anti-corruption watchdog has been at the center of a series of high-profile investigations into top officials, such as Zhou Yongkang, a member of the 17th Politburo Standing Committee.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said the Party stopped what many believed was unstoppable – the widespread disease of corruption.

"We must admit there was a period of time when the Party was too soft, loose and lenient against corrupt officials and Party members," said Yang Xiaodu, deputy secretary of the CCDI. "The loopholes gave people like Sun Zhengcai, former Party chief of Chongqing, a chance to rise to power. But the Communist Party of China (CPC) has never dodged from problems. Since the anti-corruption campaign started five years ago, it became harder and harder for corrupt officials to stay in power, let alone being promoted to high ranks."

In this period of time, more than one million officials have been punished for violating the law or Party disciplines. A total of 440 ministerial- and provincial-level officials have been brought to account. And more than 3,000 fugitives accused of corruption were caught, including 48 of the 100 most wanted on the Interpol's Red Notice list.

In response to a CGTN question about what has made this recent anti-corruption campaign different from others, Yang stated: 

"We are now combining intra-Party supervision with the scrutiny from the public and the state. For example, since President Xi took office, we are setting up a new government department – the supervision ministry, and drawing up a new supervision law. This will help strengthen the supervision from the state under the rule of law."

Western media have also questioned if the purpose of China's sweeping anti-corruption campaign is no more than a power struggle inside the CPC. But Chinese authorities have denied the accusation, stating that everything in the campaign strictly follows the laws and Party disciplines.

"Besides laws, party disciplines are also crucial in preventing corruption. The disciplines applying to our Party members are stricter than laws to the citizens. So no matter how small a violation we find, we warn or punish the officials, with the hopes of reminding and preventing them from sliding further into corruption. It's a remedy both to their own careers and public interest," Yang added.

The Party says the tough campaign against corruption will continue in the next five years.