Li Shangfu is the latest officer to fall victim to Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive.
China’s National Defense Minister Li Shangfu has been missing for weeks. Now, he’s under investigation for corruption and out of a job — a recent trend, as several other government officials have also been removed public view, only to be fired.
This pattern of anti-corruption purges is nothing new for Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has made rooting out endemic corruption, particularly in the military, a hallmark of his tenure. But it does indicate that despite his most strenuous efforts, such misconduct is still occurring at some of the highest and most visible levels of the People’s Liberation Army — potentially hampering his ambitions to modernize the force.
Li’s tenure was remarkably brief; he was appointed to his post in March of this year, and had disappeared from public view not long after two officials from the PLA’s Rocket Force were also replaced in July of this year. China’s political machinations are extremely opaque and often compared to a “black box” — which has only gotten more severe under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal first reported Li’s ouster on Friday, citing US officials as the source of the information. Mao Ning, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, didn’t address Li’s disappearance and subsequent sacking at a press briefing Friday, CNN reported, telling reporters, “I’m not aware of the situation.” The Chinese government’s unwillingness to address the disappearances and firings of several top officials in recent months has only fueled speculation and rumor, both within China and internationally.
As defense minister, Li did not oversee combat or any military campaigns, but rather played a diplomatic role, communicating with his counterparts overseas — or, in the case of the United States, refusing to pick up the phone calls of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in the aftermath of a February dustup over Chinese balloons drifting over US territory.
Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel noticed Li’s absence September 8, posting to the platform X that Li “hasn’t been seen in public for two weeks.” Li’s last public appearance, according to the Wall Street Journal, was in Beijing on August 29, when he delivered a speech to a China-Africa security summit.
Li is just the latest in a line of military firings
Prior to taking the defense minister post, the 65-year-old Li was head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, the body which oversees the PLA.
