Over 58 billion yuan ($9 billion) in cash and assets has been recovered or confiscated since the ongoing national corruption crackdown began in 2012, China's top discipline watchdog said Wednesday.
Analysts point out that these results serve to reflect the substantial effect of the campaign, while at the same time dispel the myth that the nationwide probe is hurting the economy.
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said that it confiscated 20.1 billion yuan between November 2012, when the Communist Party of China (CPC) made the decision to launch a large scale fight against graft, and June.
Apart from money, the seized items include gifts given to officials and property.
Economic losses amounting to 38.7 billion yuan were also retrieved, the CCDI said. The losses were incurred when State assets - such as land - were sold at a low price, or enterprises received undue tax breaks, reported the Xinhua News Agency.
The seized money, generally generated as a result of officials breaking the Party rules and laws, has been handed over to the national treasury by legislative bodies or discipline watchdogs.
"These monies are the substantial achievement of the anti-graft crackdown, and have sent a message to other corrupt officials that their illegal gains must be returned to the government, regardless of who they are and the amount they have amassed," Liu Zonghong, an anti-graft expert with the Party School of the CPC Shanghai municipal committee, told the Global Times.
Top prosecutor Cao Jianming said in a 2014 work report that China recovered 10.1 billion in 2013 from fugitives suspected of economic crimes.
Since the crackdown began, there has been speculation that the sweeping probe would affect the country's economic growth, especially the Chinese market for luxury products.
"The economy as a whole remains unshaken by the graft probe. It is also important to understand that the campaign is beneficial to the country's long-term economic development, especially in rebuilding credibility to attract more foreign investment," Liu noted.
A new and more sustainable form of relations between the business sector and the government is also being built because of the efforts to clear up corrupt practices, as people follow market regulations instead of resorting to corruption in their business activities, CCTV commentator Bai Yansong was quoted as saying on the CCDI website.
