China Releases ‘Professional Ethics’, Tightens Military Procurement Rules As Anti-Corruption Purge Deepens
The Chinese military is pushing for stricter rules on equipment purchases, including its pricing system, to stem corruption. Image courtesy: AI-generated picture via Sora
Chinese President Xi Jinping government is on a cleaning spree for quite some time now, removing military commanders, officers to weed out corruption. Earlier this year in October, China’s defence ministry expelled two of its highest-ranking military commanders along with seven other senior officers from both the Communist Party and the armed forces.
Continuing the same, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has publicly invited tip-offs on alleged procurement irregularities within its Air Force, signalling a deepening of Beijing’s sweeping anti-corruption campaign across the military establishment. Now, it has emerged that the military has moved to impose stricter controls on weapons procurement and pricing.
Signalling a renewed push to curb corruption inside the PLA, new “professional ethics” guidelines released on Friday (December 19, 2025) direct the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) Equipment Development Department to prioritise quality, integrity and combat effectiveness in all equipment purchases. The move comes as President Xi continues a sweeping anti-corruption drive.
China’s new anti-corruption guidelines: What new ethics code says
According to the official PLA Daily, the new rules call on procurement officials to serve the PLA with “integrity and clean practice”, while ensuring that weapons and equipment are bought strictly on the basis of battlefield needs. The guidelines emphasise that troops must receive equipment that is combat-oriented, high quality and technologically advanced.
A key feature of the new framework is tighter oversight of pricing, a long-standing vulnerability in military procurement, as per a report in the South China Morning Post. The ethics code calls for “honest quotations, law-based price reviews, strict appraisals and regulated use of pricing”, reflecting concerns that inflated contracts and opaque pricing have undermined both efficiency and readiness.
Ensuring the quality and performance of weapons systems, from development through deployment, is described as a core requirement.
Link to military modernisation and national security
In a separate commentary, the PLA Daily framed the ethics code as essential to China’s broader ambitions. It described advanced military equipment as a pillar of national security and national rejuvenation, arguing that the conduct of personnel in the equipment sector directly shapes the quality of the PLA’s arsenal.
The commentary stressed that professional ethics in procurement influence not just outcomes, but also the culture and standards of the entire military-industrial ecosystem.
Xi’s anti-corruption drive and the fall of Li Shangfu
The new rules are closely tied to Xi Jinping’s multi-year anti-corruption campaign within the armed forces, which has increasingly focused on the equipment sector. The campaign gained momentum with the downfall of former defence minister Li Shangfu, who was placed under investigation in 2023 and later accused of “severely contaminating the military’s equipment sector.”
Weeks before Li’s investigation was publicly announced on August 31, 2023, authorities issued a rare notice urging the public to report irregularities in military equipment tenders dating back to 2017, the year Li became head of the Equipment Development Department.
Widening net across the PLA
Since then, the PLA has carried out dismissals and disciplinary actions across the equipment procurement chain. From around last year, the military’s procurement website has frequently published warnings and penalties against companies and individuals found to have violated tender rules.
The anti-corruption push was reinforced at the fourth plenum of the Communist Party in October 2025, which approved a governance blueprint for 2026–2030 with extensive provisions aimed at tightening oversight and rooting out corruption in the military.
“Living a tight life” and cutting costs
Elaborating on the plenum’s decisions, Qiu Yang, deputy director of the CMC’s General Office, wrote that the PLA must be prepared to “live a tight life”, a phrase signalling fiscal discipline. He called for improvements to the procurement system and reductions in the costs of training, management and equipment support.
According to Qiu, efficiency and innovation are essential if China is to gain a strategic edge in international military competition.
Moreover, the PLA earlier this week PLA took the unusual step of publicly soliciting tip-offs about procurement problems in its air force. The notice said authorities would accept information on procurement of materials and services, including bidding processes, contract performance and the selection of tender agents.
