According to official media on Tuesday, China has replaced Defence Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, who had been absent from public view for about two months without giving any explanation.
Li is the second senior Chinese official to vanish this year after Qin Gang, the former foreign minister, who was fired in July without giving a reason.
Since giving a speech on August 29, Li, who was appointed defence minister amid a Cabinet upheaval in March, hasn’t been seen. The disappearances of Qin and Li have prompted concerns about the tenacity of President and leading Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s inner circle, but there is little indication that they indicate a change in China’s foreign or defence policies.
Xi is known for prioritising loyalty above all else and has relentlessly combated corruption in both public and private sectors, sometimes in what has been perceived as a method of shoring up his political position amid a deteriorating economy and rising tensions with the US over trade, technology, and Taiwan.
Due to his involvement in approving Russian armament sales, Li is subject to US restrictions that prevent him from entering the nation. Since then, China has severed ties with the US military, primarily in protest of the US’s arms shipments to Taiwan, but also strongly hinting that the US must end its sanctions against Li, whom Beijing refuses to formally acknowledge.
Li and Qin have both been expelled from the State Council, China’s Cabinet and seat of power, according to a statement from state-run television station CCTV. Their political careers are effectively over as a result, while it is yet unknown if they will be prosecuted or subject to any legal repercussions.
China’s political and legal processes are still incredibly opaque, which encourages vigorous debate about how corruption, personal vices, or falling-outs with other influential people could bring down top authorities.
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