Dong Xuegang jumped to his death in September after being questioned about corruption. (BBC)

Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power two years ago, saying his number one aim was to clean up politics. Soon after, he launched a hard-hitting anti-corruption campaign, the likes of which the communist state has never seen before.

Tens of thousands of party officials are now under investigation or in prison. And a growing number are killing themselves — the suicide rate among the country’s mid- to top-level officials is now at least 30 percent higher than the urban average.

BBC China editor Carrie Gracie reports from Shanxi province, the front-line of the president’s anti-corruption campaign.

• Read Carrie Gracie’s report on China’s corruption campaign

Note: This BBC interview can be heard in the Here & Now podcast or with the WBUR app.

Reporter

• Carrie Gracie, China editor for the BBC. She tweets @BBCCarrie.