 Rocket Force, which oversees the country's expanding nuclear and missile arsenal, sending shock waves through the elite force's leadership. 'Unpredictable turns within China's ruling elite' The latest shake-up has stoked speculation among senior diplomats about the unpredictable turns within China's ruling elite. Beijing was 'now resembling Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None,' quipped Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan, on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'First, Foreign Minister Qin Gang goes missing, then the Rocket Force commanders go missing, and now Defence Minister Li Shangfu hasn't been seen in public for two weeks,' he wrote with the hashtag #MysteryInBeijingBuilding. Gen Li already faced US sanctions imposed under the Trump administration in 2018 and linked to China's acquisition of Russian weapons while he was head of the PLA's main department for procuring and developing weapons. Beijing's frustration at Washington's refusal to remove the sanctions when he took office as defence minister has since stymied already frosty military-to-military relations between the two nations. Analysts have suggested the purging of senior Chinese officials over potential corruption allegations reflects poorly on President Xi's vetting process for selecting his top command. Meanwhile, foreign diplomats in China believe the president's recent no-show at the G20 reflects a worrying trend where Beijing is shutting off from the West and its allies. Beijing raised eyebrows again on Friday by announcing that Han Zheng, the Chinese vice president, would attend the United N){kind=link}
Anticipated purge of Li Shangfu is latest in a series of high-level dismissals by President Xi Jinping
China has refused to confirm the whereabouts of its defence minister amid reports he is under investigation for corruption and likely to be removed from office.
The anticipated purge of General Li Shangfu is the latest in a series of dismissals of high-level officials that has called President Xi Jinping’s political judgement into question and stoked uncertainty about the management of his foreign policy.
President Xi himself has kept a low international profile in recent weeks, making the unexpected decision not to join the world’s most powerful leaders at the G20 Summit in India earlier this month, in a move diplomats said may indicate Beijing is increasingly distancing itself from the West.
Gen Li, who was only appointed in mid-March, had not been seen in public for about two weeks and abruptly cancelled a meeting in Vietnam last week blaming a “health condition” before the reports of his removal emerged.