Hong Kong CNN –
China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday ignored questions about the whereabouts of the country’s defense minister as speculation mounted that the recently promoted general was under investigation.
Li Shangfu, who was named defense minister in March, has not been seen in public for more than two weeks, fueling rumors about his fate after a series of unexplained personnel reshuffles this summer hit the upper echelons of China’s ruling Communist Party caused an uproar.
The Financial Times reported late Thursday, citing American officials, that the U.S. government believed Li was under investigation. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Li was taken away for questioning by authorities last week, citing a person involved in decision-making in Beijing. None of the reports provide a reason for the investigation.
Asked about Li’s situation on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a regular news conference: “I am not aware of the situation.”
Questions about Li’s whereabouts follow the unexplained disappearance of Qin Gang, who was dramatically ousted as China’s foreign minister in late July after disappearing from public view for a month.
Qin, who served as foreign minister for only seven months, retained the post of State Councilor – a senior position in the Chinese Cabinet that Li also holds.
Chinese government and military websites still list Li as defense minister, state councilor and member of the party’s powerful Central Military Commission (CMC).
Li’s disappearance also comes weeks after a surprise shakeup in China’s military. In July, the People’s Liberation Army suddenly replaced two leaders of its Missile Force – an elite military force that oversees the country’s arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. The deposed commander had not been seen in public for months.
CNN is trying to reach US officials for comment.
Li’s absence was also noted in diplomatic circles. Last week, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Li had not been seen in public for two weeks.
In his post, Emanuel said: “President Xi’s Cabinet composition now resembles Agatha Christie’s novel And Then There Were None.” First Foreign Minister Qin Gang is missing, then the Rocket Force commanders are missing, and now Defense Minister Li Shangfu has not been for two weeks seen more in public.” He wrote with the hashtag “MysteryInBeijingBuilding.”
The quick disappearances of two senior ministers have raised questions about the governance of President Xi Jinping, who has made China’s political system even more opaque by concentrating power and enforcing strict party discipline.
“The Foreign Minister and the Defense Minister are both outward-facing interlocutors for the international community. They may have been removed without any explanation or consideration for global perception,” Drew Thompson, senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, told CNN on Friday.
“This is fueling the crisis of trust in China. It highlights the lack of transparency and complete opacity of decision-making in China.”
Before being promoted to defense minister, Li served as head of the CMC’s equipment development department in charge of weapons procurement for five years starting in 2017. In that role, Li was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 over China’s purchase of Russian weapons.
In late July, the Equipment Development Department issued a notice calling for public disclosures of corrupt procurement practices dating back to 2017, coinciding with the period when Li was in charge of procurement.
Li was last seen in public on August 29 when he delivered a keynote speech at the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum in Beijing.
He last traveled outside China to Russia and Belarus in mid-August. In Moscow, Li met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and praised China-Russia military ties as “a model of cooperation.” In Minsk he met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
For China’s defense minister, who usually makes fewer public appearances than the foreign minister, two weeks away from the public are nothing new.
Still, it has fueled speculation, especially so soon after Qin’s disappearance and firing.
Last week, Li abruptly withdrew from an annual meeting with Vietnamese defense leaders along the two countries’ border, Portal reported, citing Vietnamese officials. The gathering was postponed after Beijing told Hanoi days before the event that Li had a “health condition,” Portal quoted two officials as saying.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Defense said at a news conference last month that Li would lead a Chinese delegation to attend the 8th Border Guard Friendship Exchange on September 7 and 8. There was neither an official statement nor a media report from either side as to whether the meeting took place.