Between 1951 and 1952, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched two campaigns, the Three-Antis Movement and the Five-Antis Movement, one after the other. Labeled as attempts to "fight tigers" and "swat flies", these campaigns were aimed at solving market economy problems that had existed since the era of the Kuomintang (National People's Party, KMT). After the three major nation-founding movements (land reform; suppression of counter-revolutionaries; and resistance against US aggression and aiding Korea), these movements have been considered the most important political operations in the CCP's early years.

The "Three-Antis" refer to "anti-corruption", "anti-waste", and "anti-bureaucracy". This push was primarily carried out within the CCP, government bodies, and military organizations; the goal was to combat corruption and bureaucracy within the Party. Some scholars consider the original motivation of the Three-Antis Movement to arise from financial difficulties caused by the Korean War. In order to increase production and save money, it was necessary to root out corruption and waste caused by bureaucracy. Another point of view is that, long before the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Zedong was worried about the misdeeds of party cadres and wanted to take this opportunity to make a thorough rectification.

The "Five-Antis" refer to "anti-bribery", "anti-tax evasion", "anti-cheating on government contracts", "anti-theft of state property", and "anti-stealing of state economic intelligence". This movement thus primarily targeted private industrial and commercial players, and punished them for bribery and theft of state property. The movement quickly reached a climax; it caused market depressions in Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and other major cities, and increased unemployment significantly. It even affected the spring ploughing season in some areas during 1952. When the movement's end came, it was abrupt.

During the Three-Antis and Five-Antis Movements, a large number of unjust, false, and wrongful convictions occurred. According to a post-mortem analysis, of those in the Three-Antis Movement, only 1 in 1,000 people were truly worthy of being labeled corrupt criminals; and during the Five-Antis Movement, countless capitalists and businesspeople were persecuted and committed suicide. According to incomplete statistics from January 25 to April 1, 1952, there were 876 suicides in Shanghai alone, with an average of more than 10 suicides per day.

In October 1952, with the approval of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, the Three-Antis and Five-Antis Movements officially ended. Later on, in official CCP discourse, the Three-Antis and Five-Antis were "great mass movements to cleanse the poisons left over from the old society". In 1956, Mao Zedong also concluded: "The struggles of the Three-Antis and Five-Antis began to create a situation in which our country may put capitalist industries and commerce completely under control". From that point on, the bourgeoisie gradually disappeared, and to some extent, sources of corruption in the ruling party were also dealt a blow. China had affirmed autocratic rule in the economic sphere.

References: "A Study on the History of the Founding of the People's Republic of China"; "The Moral Dilemma of Governance and Ways to Break Through: An Analysis of the Three-Antis and Five-Antis Movements" (https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/21c/media/articles/c092-200502054.pdf); BBC News Chinese Website (https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/21c/media/articles/c092-200502054.pdf)