China’s defence minister Li Shangfu has not been seen in public since August 29. (Image: Reuters File)
Li Shangfu was last seen two weeks ago. Speculations mount whether he will join Qin Gang in being ministers to be demoted by Xi Jinping.
China’s defence minister Li Shangfu has not been seen in public for at least two weeks. After delivering a keynote speech at the 3rd China-Africa Peace and Security Forum in Beijing, the Chinese defence minister has not been seen in public.
The disappearance of Li Shangfu from the public eye will cause speculations outside China. Chinese President Xi Jinping has disposed his close confidante, Qin Gang, whom he elevated to the role of foreign minister and then later also removed commanders Li Yuchao and Xu Zhongbo who were in-charge of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which is the nation’s military branch that oversees the nation’s arsenal of nuclear and ballistic missiles.
Xi Jinping raised the need for unity and stability within the military during an inspection in the northeastern region of China on Sunday. He said more efforts should be made to enforce education and management of troops and maintain a high level of unity, security and stability.
Earlier this month, Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, commented on the speculations of absence of officials like Qin Gang and the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force generals. Rumours were also circulating on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, regarding the whereabouts of Li Shangfu.
China observers for the last few weeks have been noticing these unusual promotions and demotions in Beijing following the ouster of Qin. As is the norm, China has not provided any explanation behind these promotions and demotions.
The disappearance of Shangfu comes amid a probe into corruption cases linked to hardware procurement done more than five years ago. The probe was launched in July.
The probe into the PLA’s Equipment Development Department highlighted eight issues and said it was probing “leaking information on projects and army units” and cases where certain companies received help in securing bids.
The Chinese military says it is probing these issues which date back to October 2017. A report by Bloomberg said Li headed the equipment department from September 2017 to 2022, however, there are no signs that he is suspected of wrongdoing.
Xi Jinping urged for fresh efforts to improve the level of combat readiness and the building of new combat capabilities. Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of China’s top military body accompanied Xi on his trip to northeast China.
(with inputs from Bloomberg and Xinhua)
