Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu was dismissed this Tuesday (24), after remaining out of public life for two months, state broadcaster reported. CCTV.
The local press did not explain the reasons for the dismissal of Li, who was last seen carrying out a government schedule at the end of August, shortly after taking an official trip to Moscow and Minsk to meet with Russian and Belarusian officials.
The situation is reminiscent of Qin Gang, who was also fired without justification in July from his position as Foreign Minister, after disappearing from official events during the previous month.
For now, there is no information about who will replace Li as Defense Minister, whose website still mentions his name.
The newspaper Financial Times said last month that Li is under house arrest while he is the subject of an investigation, the nature of which is unknown.
The end of the minister’s public appearances came shortly after the dismissals of two generals from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force, for which no explanation was given.
Li, a 65-year-old general who took office in March, was sanctioned in 2018 by the United States on charges of having purchased weapons from Russian state company Rosoboronexport.
The general’s resignation was made official before a security forum was held in China which, according to the Chinese state press, will be attended by a delegation from the United States.
The presence of Pentagon representatives at the event will mark an important step forward in the long-stalled high-level dialogue on defense.
It is believed that the rapprochement between Beijing and Washington in recent months could lead, in November, to a meeting between US President, Joe Biden, and Chinese dictator, Xi Jinping, in California, on the sidelines of the Asia Economic Cooperation summit. -Pacific.
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