China’s Top Graft Watchdog Announces Year-Long Crackdown on Pharmaceutical Industry

China is planning a year-long nationwide crackdown on corruption in the pharmaceutical sector, particularly among hospital chiefs and those in “key positions,” as part of its heightened push to clean up an industry plagued by bribery.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the country’s top graft buster, held a meeting in Beijing on Friday to prepare for the campaign. The commission has asked local authorities to step up law enforcement efforts, to keep a close eye on people in senior or “key positions,” and to investigate both “bribe-paying and bribe-taking,” it said in a statement on its website. In the past, crackdowns have focused more on those receiving bribes.