In China , bribery is known colloquially as `` tea money '' and nearly everyone from local businesses to foreign multinationals has usually had a brush with it . The practice is so widespread that in Yangjiang -- a steel town in Guangdong Province -- a group of artists even made a cheeky exhibition of the official receipts they received for bribes they paid to build their preposterous iceberg-shaped headquarters in town . Kick-backs in China are often demanded through semi-official means and getting paperwork for overly rigorous fire safety regulations , for instance , is typically one way of oiling the wheels of officialdom . News this month that China has slipped from 80th position to 100 , tied with Suriname and Algeria , in Transparency International 's Corruption Perception Index of 174 countries may come as no surprise to those who live with bribery and graft on a daily basis . 'Tigers and flies ' Yet , the result has thrown a question mark Chinese President Xi Jinping 's `` tigers and flies '' campaign . When Xi took office in 2012 , he promised to root out endemic corruption and used a slogan made famous by former dictator Mao Zedong to show that not even high officials would be safe from his anti-corruption drive . Read more : The best and worst countries tackling corruption . Since 2013 , more than 70,000 cadres have been probed in a widespread crackdown on corruption that has been so far reaching that international luxury brands have reported a downturn . Luxury goods maker LVMH said in July that its sales of cognac , handbags and watches had all taken a hit amid challenging business conditions following China 's anti-corruption drive . Nevertheless , according to Transparency International , China 's poor score this year may be a sign that deep-rooted and systemic problems are finally being addressed . `` When countries start trying to address corruption they lift up the stone to see what 's underneath and it often looks an awful lot worse than you thought it was , '' executive director of Transparency International Robert Barrington told CNN . Perceptions of graft . He said that because corruption was often difficult to measure , the index surveyed perceptions among country experts such as businesspeople , diplomats and journalists . `` What happens is that when countries begin to address corruption , actually the perceptions get worse before they get better . '' He said for many countries trying to roll back corruption , the starting place is getting more transparency and accountability in the system . `` But what China seems to be doing is having an anti-corruption drive without introducing transparency and accountability which means you ca n't really tell what 's happening . '' Without a free press or social media , he said it was quite hard for Chinese citizens to know how widespread the crackdown was or how seriously the authorities were prosecuting it . `` It may be that China is very vigorously pursuing an anti-corruption campaign , but it wo n't get the credit for that success if it does not have greater transparency . '' Gifts and hospitality . While graft may often be standard practice in China , where it is usually disguised as gifts and hospitality , the victims of corruption are often those who can least afford it . Barrington said that one of the essential tests was whether the money that was being paid ended up with the state or with the individual it was paid to . `` In general , people around the world do become very accepting of corruption , not because they like it but because it seems so monolithic , '' he said . `` This is where we feel social media has had such a transformative effect in many countries because it encourages people to band together by putting information out . `` And that is one of the issues with China -- the mechanisms that have worked elsewhere are not going to work there because the state control of information is so very strong . '' 'Biggest fall ' China 's slump in the index was one of the `` biggest falls '' of 2014 , Transparency said . Other countries whose rankings dropped were Turkey , which dropped five points , and Angola , Malawi and Rwanda , which all dropped four . North Korea and Somalia ranked equal-worst of 174 countries , with a score of just eight . Denmark and New Zealand ranked least corrupt , with scores of 92 and 91 , respectively . `` The Transparency International report is inconsistent with China 's well-known achievements in the anticorruption campaign , '' Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying told CNN when the report was released earlier this month . `` The public will judge the achievement that the government has obtained and it will not be affected by the index . '' Barrington said that despite China 's official line on corruption , many people were taking their discontent to the streets and protesting about graft . `` If you 're not very rich in the first place and to get a state service you should be entitled to for free like healthcare or education and you have to pay a bribe in addition to the fact you 're also very poor , then clearly people feel it . '' Read this : China 's slowdown - Good or bad ? More from Virtual Think Tank .
Buy - backs in China are known colloquially as ` ` dirty money '' in a country where paying bribes is widespread . China dropped from 80th place to 39th out of 175 countries in a recent corruption index . Transparency International says the country 's poor showing may actually be a sign of corruption .