Hu warns China's incoming leaders over corruption

President Hu Jintao warned China's incoming leaders yesterday that corruption threatened the ruling Communist Party and the state, adding that the party had to stay in charge as it battled growing social unrest.

In a state-of-the-nation address to over 2,000 hand-picked party delegates before he handed over power, Hu acknowledged that the pubic anger over graft as also issues like environmental degradation had undermined the support of the party and increasing numbers of protests.

"Combating corruption and promoting political integrity, which is a major political issue of great concern to the people, is a clear-cut and long-term political commitment of the party," Hu said.

"If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the party, and even cause the collapse of the party and the fall of the state. We must thus make unremitting efforts to combat corruption."

Though he promised some degree of political reform, Hu rejected western political system, "We will never copy a Western political system. We will neither walk on the closed and rigid road, nor will we walk down the evil road of changing (our) flags and banners," Hu said.

He also pointed out that the armed forces needed to be strengthened and sea territory protected amid disputes with Japan and Southeast Asian nations. The remarks came at the opening ceremony of a week-long congress at Beijing's Great Hall of the People that will usher in a once-in-a-decade leadership change in the world's second-largest economy.