More officials jump ship of state for private sector

China’s strict anticorruption and austerity campaigns have prompted Chinese officials and state sector bosses to flee to the private sector, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an economist with Mizuho. Officials’ benefits have been stripped away in the Communist Party’s austerity drive, and the party has also approved a move to cut salaries across the board for bosses of state-owned enterprises. “Grey incomes for Chinese officials are becoming harder to come by, and the risks for corruption are rising,” said Jianguang Shen, China economist for Mizuho Securities Asia. “That’s why we see a lot of officials leaving the government, and I expect the trend to continue.”