Xi Jinping has surprisingly changed the leadership of the key missile forces.
There are two main theories about the background. More important, however, are the consequences – for Xi Jinping’s position of power, for the direction of the Chinese military and ultimately also for Taiwan and the USA.
It was a brief report that ran on the ticker of the state news agency Xinhua at the beginning of the week: “Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, on Monday presented medals promoting missile force commander Wang Houbin and its political commissar Xu Xisheng to the rank of general .”
How to get the Table.Media newsletter
This analysis lies IPPEN.MEDIA as part of a cooperation with China.Table Professional Briefing before – she had published first China.Table on August 04, 2023. Receive 30 days free access to further exclusive information of the Table.Media Professional Briefings – the decisive for the decisive in business, science, politics, administration and NGOs.
What may seem to some like news only for military pundits is the biggest purge of China’s military in decades, analysts say. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Missile Force (中国人民解放军火箭军) is one of the PLA’s most important units. Her command includes China’s nuclear arsenal and the country’s strategic conventional missiles. The tremor in their leadership therefore has far-reaching consequences – for Xi Jinping’s position of power, for the direction of the Chinese military and ultimately also for Taiwan and the USA.
New leadership from outside
First the facts: Wang Houbin 王厚斌 will become the new commander of the missile forces. Wang was the former deputy naval commander as of 2020. His predecessor Li Yuchao had not been seen in public for weeks. The Xinhua news agency did not give any reasons for his dismissal. The current status of those who have been expelled is also unclear.
At the same time, Xu Xisheng 徐西盛 becomes the new political commissar of the PLA Rocket Force (PLARF), he is responsible for discipline and personnel issues and replaces Xu Zhongbo in this post. Xu Xisheng is an air force officer and a member of the Communist Party Central Committee. He was most recently Deputy Political Commissar for Southern Theater Command.
Xi focuses on China’s missile force
One of Xi Jinping’s most important posts is as chairman of the Central Military Commission. In this capacity, Xi has been working for years to transform the antiquated People’s Liberation Army into a modern, powerful force. One of the most important components is the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s missile force.
“Xi has personally focused on PLARF,” explains Brendan Mulvaney in an interview with Table.Media. Since taking office, Xi has invested a great deal of time, resources and political support in this force. “Xi talks about PLARF being central to future conflicts,” says the director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute, a renowned US Air Force think tank.
In 2016, Xi therefore upgraded the troop in the PLA hierarchy. Their development reflects Xi’s ambitions: to make China a major power ready to challenge American dominance in the region.
In the past four years alone, the missile force has grown by 35 percent – an impressive rate given the current crises and economic problems. They also have the largest and most diverse missile program in the world, including Russia or the US. They are responsible for all of China’s land-based non-tactical missiles, both conventional and nuclear.
Biggest threat to US Navy
“Unlike Russia and the United States, China is not required by international treaties to limit the number of its medium- and medium-to-long-range ballistic missile systems, making PLARF a strategically asymmetric advantage when competing with the United States,” explains Daniel Rice in conversation with Table.Media. Rice is a military expert and president of Dong Feng, a China strategy consulting firm.
Just a few weeks ago, a senior US Navy commander highlighted the danger posed by the missile force. In an interview with the CBS television network, Admiral Samuel Paparo described the PLARF as the greatest threat facing the US Navy in the Indo-Pacific region. In the scenarios of a possible war over Taiwan, it plays a prominent role.
No official explanation
“It is extremely unusual for Xi Jinping to drop the commander of this important combat force and at the same time its political leader,” Mulvaney said. But the reasons are still completely obscure.
So far there has been no official explanation as to why the leadership of the Missile Forces was removed. Accordingly, all sorts of rumors are circulating, even a connection to the disappeared ex-Foreign Minister Qin Gang is constructed. Two explanations seem to be the most plausible: corruption and espionage.
First theory: corruption
The South China Morning Post reports allegations of corruption, citing two anonymous sources. Corruption is a frequently raised accusation, especially under Xi Jinping. However, many other aspects such as affairs or simple disloyalty are usually hidden behind it. In addition, it is not clear who else in the PLA is still under investigation in connection with these officials.
Observers report that a number of other people are said to be in trouble in connection with a possible corruption scandal, such as:
- Wei Fenghe, former Secretary of Defense
- Zhang Zhenzhong, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission
- Lt. Gen. Shang Hong, deputy commander of the Strategic Support Force and commander of the Space Force.
Second theory: betrayal of secrets
The second thesis is represented above all by the British newspaper “Financial Times”: secret betrayal. The FT said: “Foreign officials with relevant intelligence information believe the two generals are under investigation for allegedly leaking military secrets.”
This thesis must cause a stir in Beijing. Just a few weeks ago, CIA director William Burns announced that his agency was making progress in efforts to rebuild an informant network in the Chinese apparatus.
Focus on Taiwan and the South China Sea
In any case, the reasons for the layoffs are less important than their effects. Two things in particular are important. First, the appointment of Wang Houbin, who made his career in the Eastern and Southern Fleets, and Xu Xisheng, who comes from the Southern Theater Command, shows that Taiwan and the South China Sea remain the focus of the People’s Liberation Army.
And secondly, the fact that Xi has appointed two outside military personnel, Wang from the Navy and Xu from the Air Force, to head the missile force shows how concerned the supreme commander must be. With this radical cut, Xi is further consolidating his grip on a key unit of the People’s Liberation Army. Some may remember Xi’s words from the 20th party congress: The time of the different factions is over. In any case, the leadership of the Chinese missile forces brought Xi into line this week.
#attack #Taiwan #threatened #Drastic #restructuring #Chinas #missile #forces