China learnt "profound lesson" from Bo Xilai scandal: Party

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China learnt a profound lesson from the Bo Xilai scandal and the Communist Party will make fighting corruption a top priority, a party spokesman said on Wednesday.

Mr Bo, once a contender for top leadership in the world's second-largest economy, was ousted in China's biggest political scandal in two decades earlier this year.

"Our country is a society in transition, the phenomenon of corruption happens easily and often and is a long-term and arduous task for the party (to tackle)," spokesman Cai Mingzhao told a news conference a day before a key congress begins which will usher in a generational leadership change.

"The issues of Bo Xilai and Liu Zhijun ... occurred at senior levels within the party and are serious corruption cases; the lessons (learnt) were extremely profound," Mr Cai said, referring also to a railways minister sacked for graft last year.