Xi’s pledge to ‘uproot sick trees’ aired weeks ahead of Communist Party conclave

President Xi Jinping has pledged to “uproot sick trees” in the anti-corruption fight, according to a transcript of a speech published by the Communist Party’s flagship magazine ahead of a major party conclave later this month.

The warning appeared on Thursday in the magazine Qiushi, which carried fresh details of a speech Xi delivered in January at the fifth plenary session of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the party’s top anti-corruption watchdog.