China further reins in business activities of officials’ families

China’s ruling Communist Party has issued rules to further rein in the business activities of the families of senior government officials, in the latest move to fight corruption, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.

Officials must report business activities of their spouses and children and those who fail to do so or seek to skirt the rules will be “dealt with seriously in accordance with regulations and laws”, Xinhua cited the provisions issued by the Communist Party’s Central Committee.

Officials’ spouses and children must withdraw from their business activities or the officials themselves will have to step down from their current posts and “accept job adjustments” and face other forms of punishments, Xinhua said.

Such business activities include investing in enterprises, holding senior positions in private enterprises or foreign-funded enterprises, private equity fund investment, and engaging in paid social intermediary and legal services, Xinhua said.

The extended families of Communist Party cadres have become a key battleground in President Xi Jinping’s war on corruption, which has punished thousands of officials since he came to power in late 2012.

Many cases of corruption have involved officials registering businesses and property under the names of relatives, allowing them to meet the letter of party guidelines while still using their influence to amass wealth.

“Strengthening the management of leading cadres’ spouses, children and their spouses running businesses is an important measure to strictly manage the party and supervise cadres in an all-round way,” Xinhua cited the party’s rules as saying.