China’s defense minister under investigation for corruption

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu is under investigation for corruption and likely will be removed, two US officials said this week, in what would be the latest in a series of top-tier purges of Beijing’s security ranks.

The expected purge of Li, who has been noticeably absent from public view for the past two weeks, in the wake of other dismissals will heighten a sense of uncertainty over how China’s day-to-day foreign policy is being managed, the Washington Post reports.

It will also further call into question Xi’s leadership as he consolidates power, analysts say. They note that the narrowing of his inner circle to yes-men has deprived him of opinions and advice that could avert damaging decisions.

One Chinese official said that Li’s dismissal was imminent, but said it was for “health issues,” not corruption. Two people involved in the Chinese defense industry, however, said there is broad consensus that Li’s absence is related to corruption charges relating to his previous position as head of military procurement.

Li, 65, who was appointed defense minister in March, is one of five state councilors — high-level officials — tapped by Xi to form China’s leadership cabinet this year.

Li was last seen on Aug. 29, when he gave a keynote address at the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum in Beijing. Earlier last month, he traveled to Belarus and Russia, meeting in Moscow with his counterpart, Sergey Shoigu. He is due to take part in a major international defense and security conference in Beijing next month, the Xiangshan Forum.

Li’s apparent cashiering would come months after the purge of China’s foreign minister, Qin Gang, and the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, its premier military unit in charge of the country’s growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and conventional missiles.

“These are some of the most important outward-facing positions in China,” said one senior US official, who like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity.

Li “is under serious investigation and in all likelihood is being removed,” the official said, noting that the Rocket Force leadership purge also involved allegations of corruption. The Financial Times reported Thursday that US officials think that Li is under investigation.

Should Li be sacked, he would be the second state councilor to be removed from a ministerial position within three months.

“It could be even worse than that,” the official said, alluding to the potential for further purges.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington declined to comment.