Security
China's defense chief relieved of his duties, according to US
Indications hint at a potential crisis in Xi Jinping's government. The latest removal follows the abrupt disappearance of the foreign minister and the unexplained replacement of the nuclear arsenal leadership.
![Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu salutes the audience before delivering a speech in Singapore in June. Reports suggest that Li is under investigation by Beijing and has been 'relieved of his duties'. [Roslan Rahman/AFP]](/gc4/images/2023/09/15/44018-shangfu1_-600_384.webp)
AFP |
WASHINGTON -- The US government says that Chinese National Defense Minister Li Shangfu is the subject of an investigation by Beijing and has been relieved of his duties, the Financial Times reported late Thursday (September 14), citing American officials.
The report came shortly before Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, stated on social media that Li "hasn't been seen or heard from in 3 weeks," and that the minister might have been placed under house arrest.
It is the latest sign of potential turmoil in Beijing after Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang inexplicably disappeared and was ousted from his post in July.
China also replaced the leadership of its Rocket Force, the army unit that oversees its nuclear arsenal, in July, with its former commander Li Yuchao not seen in public for weeks before the change and official media Xinhua giving no explanation for his removal.
![Chinese National Defense Minister Li Shangfu participates in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow April 16. [Pavel Bednyakov/AFP]](/gc4/images/2023/09/15/44019-shangfu2_-600_384.webp)
Asked by AFP on Friday whether Li Shangfu was under investigation, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said she was "not aware of the situation you raise."
The Times reported that three US officials as well as two people briefed on intelligence said the United States determined Li had been stripped of his duties as minister.
Li traveled to Russia in August to attend a security conference near Moscow on August 15. Two days later, the Belarusian regime released handout photographs of Li meeting with Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka in Minsk.
And then there were none
The latest apparent removal of an elite Chinese official from public view led Emanuel, who has been openly critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping, to fuel speculation about the issue on September 7 and again one week later.
"President Xi's cabinet lineup is now resembling Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None. First, Foreign Minister Qin Gang goes missing, then the Rocket Force commanders go missing, and now Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn't been seen in public for two weeks," Emanuel posted last week on X, the former Twitter, using the hashtag #MysteryInBeijingBuilding.
On Thursday, in another post on his official ambassador account, he questioned whether Beijing authorities have restricted Li's movements.
"1st: Defense Minister Li Shangfu hasn't been seen or heard from in 3 weeks. 2nd: He was a no-show for his trip to Vietnam," he wrote.
"Now: He's absent from his scheduled meeting with the Singaporean Chief of Navy because he was placed on house arrest???... Might be getting crowded in there."