An angry China has criticised an annual survey of least-corrupt countries in which it tumbled 20 places, and below India, saying the list did not take into account its "remarkable progress" in fighting graft.
"Scores and ranking on China given by the Corruption Perceptions Index 2014 is in total contradiction with the remarkable progress China has registered in anti-corruption," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.
She said the Chinese people would have a fair opinion on visible achievements from China's anti-corruption crackdown, and the survey can not serve as a standard in this regard.
"As a fairly influential international organisation, Transparency International should seriously examine the objectiveness and impartiality of its Corruption Perceptions Index," she said at a media briefing yesterday.
The anti-corruption survey by the Berlin-based watchdog has ranked India as less corrupt than China for the first time in 18 years.
While India jumped 10 places from in its ranking last year to 85th out of the 175, China tumbled 20 places to rank 100th.
China says it is upset because Transparency International has not taken into account the high-profile campaign by President Xi Jinping during which thousands of officials, including some top Communist Party and army officials, have been punished.
Hua said corruption is a tumour in human society that erodes social justice and development outcomes, and thus must be uprooted.
"Given the increasing number of cross-national corruption crimes, all countries should step up comprehensive international cooperation, judicial assistance and extradition in particular," she said.
China this year claimed major success in its "Fox hunt" crackdown to bring back hundreds of officials who had fled the country with billions of dollars illegally.
This year, 312 Chinese officials have been brought back from 57 countries.
