Overseas firms making sure they keep their hands clean

Foreign companies find it really is different as the government cracks down on corruption, report Emma Dai in Hong Kong and Yao Jing in Beijing

While welcoming government efforts to clamp down on corruption, foreign businesses in China are scrambling to review their practices and adopt safeguards to avoid being caught in scandals that can have serious consequences in China and at home.

"President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign is what China needs for the long term," said Shirley Chan, vice-president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong. "We should correct the way business is done in China and make the country a fairer market."

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"It's not only fast - it started soon after the administration took office - but also lasting longer than previously," Chan said. "The leadership is showing its perseverance in fighting corruption, for the battle against vested interests won't be easy. We appreciate the effort and thumbs up for the government.

"Although there are negative short-term effects for some industries, things will be better if we can get through this period. It takes time to make a difference, just as it took the Independent Commission Against Corruption more than a decade to transform Hong Kong.

"A more transparent regulatory system and corruption-free culture will make China a much more pleasant marketplace," she added

Xi has vowed to crack down on corruption by both "tigers and flies" - highly placed government officials and lower-level bureaucrats.

"We must resolutely investigate law-breaking cases of leading officials and earnestly resolve the unhealthy tendencies and corruption problems that happen all around," he told the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China in January 2013.

After Xi's speech, an anti-corruption campaign began sweeping across the country. Extravagant spending was called off.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate disclosed that by November, about 37,000 government officials had been investigated, with more than 27,000 allegedly involved in corruption cases worth a total of 5.51 billion yuan ($900 million). About 20 provincial-level officials were removed from their posts.