Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu
General Li Shangfu removed as Defense Minister
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu is under investigation and may have been dismissed. This was stated by the Financial Times, which reports American sources according to which Li’s fall from grace explains the minister’s sudden withdrawal from a meeting with Vietnamese defense leaders last week. Li’s absence from the public eye has lasted for more than two weeks. The minister, 65, was due to attend an annual meeting on defense cooperation hosted by Vietnam on the border with China on September 7 and 8, but the meeting was postponed after Beijing told Hanoi, days before the event, that the minister had “health problems”.
As the Press writes, “Li’s removal would also have a strong meaning from a symbolic point of view. His nomination served China to show closeness to Moscow, but also to signal to the US that it is not willing to give in to sanctions. Effectively claiming pride in the choice of their men. In June, Li skipped meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. And the refusal to fully reopen the defense dialogue has so far been justified precisely by the failure to remove the sanctions against Li.”
The matter also comes in addition to the removal for unclear reasons of Foreign Minister Qin Gang and the sudden dismissal of the missile forces’ leadership. A sign that Xi is very busy at home.
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