FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

On the role of the rule of law in China's intensified effort to combat corruption, Westad said the new blueprint will help the CPC accelerate its anti-corruption drive in the country.

"When you open up a system, this always happens -- people make use of the chance to enrich themselves," he said.

The Chinese leadership's anti-corruption efforts are very positive for China and its image in the world, he added.

"There are side effects, small side effects. The most important thing here I think is that it's very positive, that it focuses on combating corruption and dealing with it even at very high levels," Westad said.

Echoing Westad's view, Munene Macharia, a professor of the United States International University at Nairobi, Kenya, said the CPC's decision to advance the rule of law will accelerate the anti-corruption move and help modernize China's governance.

"A vibrant rule of law will bolster China's international image and also increase foreign direct investment," Macharia said.

Etienne Reuter, director at Elliott Consultants Ltd. in Brussels, said the phrase of rule of law is not new in the CPC's official discourse, but it has new implications given today's new circumstances.

"The opening and transformation of China's economy following Deng Xiaoping's four modernizations has entered a new phase requiring greater environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness. The people of China aspire for a better quality of life and a fairer society," he said.

"In this respect, the rule of law provides the essential underpinning for combating pollution and degradation of the environment as well as for the fight against corruption," Reuter said.

In the view of Khalid Mahmood, president of the Islamabad Council of World Affairs, the rule of law will boost China's good image in the world and increase the world's trust in China, as well as enhance China's fight against corruption.

China is not bound to follow any other country in the world for the rule of law, and it should consider its own culture, traditions and current requirements to set rules and laws "with Chinese characteristics," he noted.

Wu Jianmin, a guest research fellow at LSE IDEAS, said the CPC's pursuit of the rule of law will help China better show itself to the whole world.

The just-concluded plenary session has drawn worldwide praise as it is the first in the CPC's history that focuses on the rule of law, said Wu, who is also a former Chinese ambassador to France.

China will not copy the experience of others and will build the rule of law with its own characteristics, he added.