Two months after he disappeared from state media radar, Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been officially “removed.” The few lines read on public broadcaster CCTV’s evening news made it clear that a decree from President Xi Jinping, following a decision by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (Beijing Parliament), was curtailing the 65-year-old’s career End-year-old general, appointed to the position in March.
No reason was given for his departure, which also entailed the loss of the status of a State Councilor: the same fate befell – by virtue of the same decree – Qin Gang, the former foreign minister, who was dismissed in July and replaced by his predecessor Wang Yi Rumors of an extramarital affair and unspecified national security violations. The Prime Minister, the four deputies and the five State Councilors form the select committee of the central government.
China officially has no defense minister tonight because there is no designated successor. Not that the Dragon lacks the chain of command of the armed forces, but the head of the ministry is still the public face and international relations, although he is only number four in the hierarchy: he is one of the seven members of the Central Military The Commission , the highest body, sees Xi in the role of commander in chief, but the two vice presidents also stand in front of him.
Li’s fall from grace became apparent on September 28 when his absence from the dinner marking the 74th anniversary of the People’s Republic was recorded. In the Great Hall of the People, as ANSA was able to verify, there were only a few soldiers (including Zhang Youxia, number two of the Central Military Commission, veteran and hero of the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War) and various police officers. A large part of the guests were foreign Diplomats.
The character of Li Shangfu deserves more than just consideration: he is an important military man who oversaw the launch of the Chang’e national lunar exploration project, and he is considered a very close confidant of Zhang Youxia, Xi’s ally and one of the leading figures of the red aristocracy second generation. Before joining the Defense Ministry, Li had headed the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, which was responsible for weapons procurement and had a huge financial budget. His election as defense minister was initially interpreted as a challenge to the United States, also because he refused to meet his counterpart Lloyd Austin: in fact, Li Shangfu was sanctioned by Washington in 2018 over Moscow’s purchase of Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 missiles.
The most widespread interpretation in Beijing’s political circles is that Xi wanted to send a message to the military by punishing the former minister: In July, an anti-corruption investigation into procurement was announced until 2017, a period when Li was head of the military department. It is a well-known opinion that without the army’s support, Xi would not have had the unprecedented third mandate at the head of the PCC in October 2022. But now reputable sources tell ANSA: “The leader is implementing the ancient strategy of the Chinese emperors to ensure the absolute loyalty of the military.”
In addition to the dismissal of the two ministers, the heads of two generals, Li Yuchao and Liu Guangbin, head and deputy of the Rocket Force, an elite unit founded in 2016 that also controls nuclear warheads, also fell due to corruption: they were replaced by two loyalists, which, however, was the case caused great discontent among the armed forces. At the end of the month, from October 29 to 31, Beijing will host the 10th Xiangshan Forum, a security event organized by the Ministry of Defense, to which an American delegation has been invited among the more than 90 delegations expected. The minister’s absence would not be a good sign, and that evening in Beijing the name of General Liu Zhenli, head of combat operations and planning, was floated as a candidate for promotion.
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