( Financial Times ) -- The sales director for a supplier to Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive is close to despair . She has been selling parts for 20 years but now , she said , more people than ever needed to be bribed to guarantee orders . `` In the past , we would give a purchasing manager a red envelope . But now even assembly line workers will call me threatening that if we do n't pay up they will find some problem with our product , '' she said , asking to remain anonymous for fear of the potential consequences . `` The rot has reached the roots . '' Her exasperation is shared by many . China is gripped by a sense that corruption has never been as bad as it is today and that it has started to shake the very foundations of the country 's economic development . Xi Jinping , who became president on Thursday , has been driving an anti-graft campaign ever since he took over as Communist party chief in November . Mr Xi identified fighting corruption as a priority in his first speech as leader and has promised to show no leniency over an issue that he and others have warned could be a threat to the party 's rule . Beijing has subsequently cracked down on the flood of gifts and banquets from which even small-time party officials have benefited . And , at the annual session of the National People 's Congress , the rubber-stamp parliament that has been meeting in Beijing this week , Mr Xi 's approach has raised hopes that tougher rhetoric will translate into systemic reform . `` We have received indications that the National People 's Congress Standing Committee will put a broad anti-corruption law on its legislative agenda for the coming five years , '' said Dennis Han , an NPC delegate and long-time campaigner for legislation to force officials to publicly declare their assets . But the problem runs far beyond officialdom . According to Transparency International , Chinese people say corruption is at its worst in the private sector . In the group 's 2010/2011 Global Corruption Barometer , the sector scored worse than the civil service , judiciary or the police . Daimler did not respond to requests for comment about the claims made by the supplier 's sales director about its Chinese joint venture . The executive said her company gave her Rmb20,000 ( $ 3,300 ) for handouts during lunar new year , when cash gifts in red envelopes is traditionally given in a practice often used as a cloak for bribery . Even so , she said , she struggled to meet the ballooning demand for new year gifts from even lowly employees at the Daimler joint venture on the outskirts of Beijing . `` The Germans only occupy the top layer of management , and everything below that is done by Chinese , the Chinese way . The Germans do n't know , '' she said . Although China has many laws and regulations banning corruption , the country has long struggled to contain it among officials . Lang Sheng , deputy head of the NPC 's law committee , said further anti-corruption legislation would be one of the focal points of the congress 's work in the coming years . Plenty of people remain sceptical about the party 's willingness to root out corruption . A bout of transparency would be likely to reveal graft at the very top of the party and Beijing has reacted angrily in recent months to scrutiny by international news organisations , including Bloomberg and the New York Times , of the wealth of Mr Xi 's family and that of Wen Jiabao , the outgoing premier . Reformists are not giving up , however . Mr Han failed for seven years in a row to get a proposal making it mandatory for officials to disclose their assets on the NPC 's agenda . This year , however , he has changed tack . He now believes that waiting for asset declaration requirements to be included in a broader law is more realistic as it would give the leadership more time . Any change is likely to take time . Legal experts say China will probably have to amend parts of its criminal code and several other laws in the process . Even those who believe that change is possible think that means it will take a decade before it becomes reality . © The Financial Times Limited 2013 .
People in China say corruption is worse than ever . Comment: Some remain skeptical that reforms will materialize . NPC delegate Dennis Han is calling for asset declaration requirements for officials .