China's accelerating anti-corruption investigations will in the short term improve President Xi Jinping's ability to carry out policies like real estate reform, but in the long term they could stoke a power crisis that spurs Xi to double down on national security and further isolates China's economy from the world. Investigations by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into corruption and disciplinary violations by senior officials -- those at the deputy ministerial level or above, or those with high rank in key sectors -- hit a record high of 45 cases (not counting military cases) in 2023, surpassing the 32 in 2022 and the previous record of 38 in 2014, according to recent calculations by the South China Morning Post. Moreover, 27 of those 45 cases were against retired officials, who prior to President Xi Jinping's leadership had largely been insulated from political persecution by the CCP. Anti-corruption and party discipline...
