China forex regulator tells staff to take graft fight seriously

[BEIJING] China's foreign exchange regulator has urged its officials to take seriously the ruling Communist Party's fight against corruption and follow rules closely, the regulator said in a statement released by the country's graft watchdog on Tuesday.

Dozens of senior Chinese officials have been investigated or jailed in a sweeping crackdown on deep-rooted graft launched by President Xi Jinping since he took over the party's leadership in late 2012, and the presidency in 2013.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) "pays great attention" to instructions about fighting corruption, the regulator's internal discipline team said. "In the face of all kinds of tests and temptations, you must be clear about what you can't do, what you can't eat, what places you can't go and what opinions you can't speak," it said, in the statement carried by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. "Pay attention to standards of behaviour and keep a clear head," it added.

China's financial regulators have been under pressure since stock markets collapsed in mid-June following a long bull run, although the statement made no mention of the markets.

The party's graft watchdog said last week it was widening probes into state-owned institutions, by including the central bank, state-owned banks and securities regulators.

REUTERS