China's anti-graft campaign to go on for 'at least 5 years'

The Chinese central government's fight against extravagance and corruption will last for at least five years, the country's anti-corruption chief said.

In a speech at the seventh meeting of the 12th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Standing Committee, Wang Qishan, secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said that the fight against corruption is a war that "the nation cannot afford to lose," China Daily reports.

Zhu Lijia, a professor of public administration at the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that the officials' stance on corruption would dramatically change within five years.

Lijia said that by the end of the fifth year, a comprehensive corruption prevention system would be set up.

The fight against lavishness and graft was initiated by the central government in November 2012, soon after President Xi Jinping occupied office.