China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu was dismissed from his position on Tuesday after he disappeared from public life for two months, reportedly due to corruption probes.
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee made the decision without giving a reason. It did not immediately announce Li’s successor but most observers believe that Liu Zhenjiang, chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission (CMC), will take charge of the Ministry of National Defense.
China has refused to have defense talks with the US since then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
In May this year, Beijing declined a request from Washington for a meeting between Li and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. It blamed the US for having sanctioned Li over China’s purchases of Russian combat aircraft and arms since 2018.
From this point of view, the replacement of Li may help the US and China resume defense dialogues, said some Chinese commentators.
It is expected that China’s new defense chief or at least a candidate will give an opening speech at the country’s regional security dialogue, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, on October 29-31.
The US will send a delegation led by Cynthia Xanthi Carras, country director for China in the office of the undersecretary of defense for policy, to attend the forum, according to the China Daily.
More than 90 delegations from countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation, including from Russia, the US, Iran, Singapore, Nigeria, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, said Zhao Yufei, deputy secretary-general of the forum’s organizing committee.
They include 22 ministerial-level and 14 military chief-of-staff level officials and 200 military experts from more than 50 countries and regions, he added.
Last remarks
On August 15, Li was still China’s representative to attend the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS). He met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu to discuss bilateral military cooperation.
Before he disappeared from public view, Li made his last remarks in a keynote speech at the third China-Africa Peace and Security Forum on August 29, calling on both sides to continue to cooperate closely on sensitive issues while rejecting hegemony and bullying actions.
On September 16, Reuters reported that Li was under investigation for corruption charges relating to his previous position as head of military procurement.
“It’s unlikely that Li Shangfu stepped down only because of corruption problems,” US-based Chinese political commentator Chen Pokong says in his vlog. “As Li had just become China’s state councilor and defense chief in March this year, [Chinese President] Xi Jinping has no reason to take him down.”
Chen says it is no surprise that China’s military procurement officials have corruption problems but these should be a strong-enough reason to make top officials like Li step down. He says Li, one of the seven CMC members, might be caught with some bigger issues.
Back in December 2015, when Li was the deputy chief of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s procurement department, the department head Li Mingquan was arrested for a corruption investigation.
Li Mingquan faced a bribery charge in June 2017 as he was accused of receiving 1.4 million yuan (US$191,463) from a mechanical equipment supplier in 2010-2012.
Submarine accident
Up Media, a Taiwanese news website, on September 29 suggested that Li was investigated due to a submarine accident that reportedly killed 55 Chinese sailors in the Yellow Sea on August 21.
A social media account “lude media” posted on Twitter, now called X, on August 22 that a Type 093 submarine had a serious accident in the Taiwan Strait and lost all its crew on August 21. A few hours later, it clarified that the accident happened in the Yellow Sea.
On August 22, Sun Li-fang, a spokesperson of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, said it could not confirm that report. On August 31, Wu Qian, a spokesperson of China’s Ministry of National Defense, said the report that a submarine accident happened in the Taiwan Strait was false.
Citing a classified United Kingdom report based on defense intelligence, the Daily Mail reported on October 3 that 55 people were poisoned to death by an onboard oxygen system after their submarine was stuck by a self-developed trap. The Mirror and The Times also cited the same confidential report.
Another X account user @LuoXiangGY says in a post on October 19 that the crew were poisoned by hydrogen sulfide due to a mistake in pipe connections. He says a sailor survived the accident as he left the vessel to deal with the trap. A report written by the sailor was later obtained by UK intelligence.
He says Xi was informed about the accident on his flight to South Africa but the Chinese leader was furious when he knew that netizens were gossiping about it.
On August 23, Xi missed his key speech at the BRICS Summit. Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao gave a speech on behalf of him.
Beijing has not further commented on the matter since August 31. Taiwan said on September 12 that it could not provide any information as the matter is confidential.
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