On taking office, top leader Xi Jinping vowed to crack down on "tigers and flies", corrupt senior and lower-level officials. Over the past three years the anti-corruption campaign has been executed under the direction of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the ruling Party's top anti-graft body, and its chief Wang Qishan.

But in early December, global financial giant BNP Paribas said the anti-corruption campaign has knocked 1-1.5 percent off the country's GDP annually over the past two years and continues to hit the economy. According to BNP Paribas, the anti-corruption drive has harmed investment and gift-giving, local governments' investment projects and foreign multinationals.

So, is the campaign against corruption really bad for economic growth?