Xi Jinping's 'final purge' ahead of party meet includes 'tigers' and 'flies'

President Xi Jinping has embarked on a "final round of purges" ahead of a major Chinese Communist Party congress, wielding his long-running anti-corruption campaign to cement his grasp on power, analysts say.

When he became leader a decade ago, Xi vowed to root out dishonest officials, both senior "tigers" and low-ranking "flies".

More than 1.5 million officials have been punished since then, according to data from the party disciplinary body, and China's ranking on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index has improved.

But critics say the campaign is also a thinly veiled political tool that has helped Xi eliminate his rivals -- and the build-up to this year's congress has seen more heads roll.

About 1,100 officials have been caught in the party dragnet since the beginning of this year, according to party data.

Among them are former deputy public security minister Sun Lijun and former justice minister Fu Zhenghua, who will now spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

This final round of purges, masquerading as an anti-corruption campaign, will ensure that Xi will have tighter if not absolute control over personnel and policy issues (at the Congress)," said Willy Lam, a political analyst at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Xi is widely expected to secure a third term as party leader at the meeting, upending the succession norms in place since the 1990s.

"Despite all signs that his major goal of a third term is pretty much guaranteed, Xi is still paranoid about his control over appointments to key decision-making bodies within the party," Lam added.