The fact that Li Shanfu has not been seen for a while has not gone unnoticed by the world media. Western newspapers reported that Li Shanfu may be under investigation. This development is interpreted as Chinese leader Jinping trying to consolidate his power in the army.
Li's absence raised the possibility that Chinese authorities were investigating him. Li was expected to attend a meeting held in Vietnam last week, but there was no news that he attended the meeting. Asked by journalists about Li's whereabouts on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said he had no information about it.
Strengthens control over the army
Just six weeks ago, Chinese leader Xi Jinping replaced the most senior commanders of the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force, which oversees China's nuclear missiles. Analysts said the sudden dismissals showed Xi was trying to reconsolidate his control over the military and purge perceived elements of corruption, disloyalty, and dysfunction from its ranks.
"90 percent were dismissed"
Li, 65, was promoted to Minister of National Defense in March after joining the Xi-run Central Military Commission, the council through which the party controls the military, late last year.
Li last spoke at a forum attended by officials from African countries in Beijing at the end of August. It is not unusual for People's Liberation Army commanders to remain out of sight, but the absence of the defense minister as the army's chief diplomat is more conspicuous.
Li Shangfu (born February 1958) is a Chinese aerospace engineer and general of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Li is currently a State councillor and the Minister of National Defence of China since March 2023. He has also been a member of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the highest national defense organization in China, since 2022.
Reuters reported on Friday, citing unnamed sources, that Li did not attend the talks planned to be held with Vietnamese officials last week.
For much of his career, Li was closely involved in developing and acquiring the People's Liberation Army's growing arsenal of rockets, missiles, and other advanced weapons. As a weapons expert who, like Xi, was the son of a veteran of Mao Zedong's revolutionary forces, he appeared to have won Xi's trust.
Became the target of the USA
Li, who studied engineering, has a stellar resume in rocketry, weapons development, and the manned space program. He was appointed first deputy commander of the Strategic Support Force, which Xi created in late 2015 as part of a sweeping restructuring of the Chinese military. The Strategic Support Force brings together China's efforts in new areas of military competition such as space, cyber operations and espionage, advanced communications, and psychological warfare.
Li was named head of the Chinese military's Equipment Development Department in 2017, a post that made him the target of U.S. government sanctions the following year. Washington barred Li, among others, from obtaining a U.S. visa, citing his role in the purchase of Russian warplanes and surface-to-air missiles.
China rejected invitations from the United States for talks between Li and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, saying the Biden administration should lift sanctions first.
“As the lyrics of a famous Chinese song say, bring out the fine wine when friends visit,” Li said at the annual security meeting held in Singapore this year. "When the coyotes and wolves visit, bring the hunting rifle," he said.
US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel teased Xi on the He said he needed to explain.
In a post on X on Friday, Emanuel asked whether Li had been placed under house arrest. "It's a lot. When you know the history of China, given all the tensions economically and internally, people are being arrested left and right," Emanuel said.