The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) is the highest internal control institution of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), tasked with enforcing internal rules and regulations and combating corruption and malfeasance in the party. Since the vast majority of officials at all levels of government are also Communist Party members, the commission is in practice the top anti-corruption body in China. The modern commission was established at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in December 1978. Control systems had existed previously under the name "Central Control Commission" for a brief period in 1927 and again between 1955 and 1968, and under its present name from 1949 to 1955. It was disbanded during the Cultural Revolution in 1969. In 1993, the internal operations of the agency and the government's Ministry of Supervision (MOS) were merged. Although the commission is theoretically independent of the CCP's executive institutions such as the Central Committee and its Politburo, historically the work of the CCDI has been directed by the party's top leaders. However, beginning with Hu Jintao's term as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in November 2002, and especially following Xi Jinping's assumption of the party leadership in November 2012, the CCDI has undergone significant reforms to make it more independent from party operations below the Central Committee. According to the CCP's Constitution, the members of the CCDI are elected by the National Congress and serve for a term of five years. After the national congress in which it is elected, the CCDI convenes to elect its Secretary, deputy secretaries, secretary general and Standing Committee. Elected officials must then be endorsed by the Central Committee to take office. The Secretary of the CCDI has, since 1997, been a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and, since 2009, served as the leader of the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work. The current secretary is Li Xi, who took office on 23 October 2022. History Before the People's Republic The idea of a control system was inspired by Vladimir Lenin in The State and Revolution. Lenin argued that every communist vanguard party, at all levels, needed a system to supervise party-official elections, dismissals and performance. His writings led to the establishment of the Soviet Central Control Commission; the control system and the party structure were imported to China. The importance of discipline and supervision was emphasised since the CCP's founding. The 2nd