BEIJING, March 10 -- The People's Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China (CPC), called for addressing the "deteriorated political ecology".

"Green hills and clean water are needed for natural ecology, and it's the same with political ecology," the paper quoted President Xi Jinping in an editorial on Tuesday.

Xi pledged to continue to advance the battle against corruption, saying that "the rotten trees must be trimmed, the sick trees cured and the crooked trees straighten." He made the remarks while talking with National People's Congress (NPC) deputies from Jiangxi Province on Friday.

According to the editorial, much like environmental improvement, the restoration of political ecology must be part of a wider, ongoing process.

An iron hand is needed, the paper posited, to continue the crackdown.

The paper cited Su Rong, former vice chairmen of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, who is under criminal investigation by the Supreme People's Procuratorate over allegations of accepting bribes.

"Su's home is just like a power-for-money trade center -- the whole family is involved in corruption," it said. "As head of the trading floor, Su had led other officials astray."