Li stated at the forum that a confrontation with the US would be an” unbearable disaster ,” but that China preferred dialogue to confrontation.
In response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, he met with senior officials in Russia and Belarus in the middle of August to present support for nations that the West had socially isolated.
Li was last seen in Beijing on August 29 giving a keynote speech at an American security conference.
ORIGINS OF TECHNOCRAT
According to experts, Li’s background as a technocrat— he is an aerospace engineer who worked on China’S satellite program — was helpful in attempting to fulfill Xi” objectives for the People ‘ Liberation Army( PLA ).
James Char, a security expert at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said that” the functional and technical background of the next Foreign defence minister is particularly important given that the PLA aims to be – class military by 2049.”
Li was appointed deputy chief of the PLA’s Strategic Support Force in 2016, a prestigious organization charged with hastening the advancement of Chinese cyberwarfare and storage capabilities.
He was finally given the position of head of the Central Military Commission’s Equipment Development Department. Li received a sanction for the 2017 acquisition of 10 Russian Su-35 combat aircraft as well as S-400 surface-to-air missile system technology.
The department made the extremely unusual decision to” clean up” its bidding process in July by issuing a notice. When Li was in charge in October 2017, it issued an invitation to the consumer to review irregularities. Up until October 2022, he was in charge of the system.
Li’s tenure at the Central Military Commission brought attention to his connections to Xi, who has tightened his hold on the war. According to some academics, Li has a close relationship with Zhang Youxia, Xi’s former military alliance who Li succeeded as department head.
During the Communist Party Congress next month, Zhang was elevated to the position of first vice president of the military commission, with Li following him into the agency’s seven-person governing body.
Analysts claim that despite the uncertainty surrounding Li’s absence, senior military officials who may assume the role of defense minister are likely in plentiful supply.
What concern Beijing will continue to give to China’s military politics in the midst of continuous regional tensions is a bigger question.