China’s ex-defence minister Li Shangfu charged with graft; expelled from Communist Party

BEIJING: China’s ruling Communist Party headed by President Xi Jinping on Thursday expelled the former defence minister Gen. Li Shangfu for alleged corruption and launched prosecution proceedings against him, months after he was dramatically sacked from the post.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) leadership on Thursday decided to expel Li, 66, for serious violation of Party discipline and the law, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Li, who headed the People's Liberation Army's all-important Rocket (Missile) Force and was personally picked up for the top defence post by Xi himself, went missing last year, sparking speculation that he was being investigated for corruption and indiscipline.

Li, who also formerly served as a State Councillor, the top post in the party and as a member of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the overall high command of the PLA headed by Xi, was deprived of his qualification as a delegate to the 20th CPC National Congress, according to a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

Li is among dozens of top PLA Generals either sacked or punished for corruption since Xi, 71, assumed power in 2012.

The CMC's disciplinary and supervisory agency launched an investigation against Li on August 31, 2023.

According to the investigation results, Li seriously violated political and organisational discipline. He sought improper benefits in personnel arrangements for himself and others, took advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others, and accepted a huge amount of money and valuables in return, the Xinhua report said.

He is suspected of the crime of taking bribes. He was also found to have offered money to others to seek undue benefits, constituting the suspected crime of offering bribes. The investigation also found clues of Li's other violations, it said.

As a high-ranking official of the CPC and the military, Li betrayed the Party's original aspiration and its principles, the report said, adding that his actions failed the trust of the Party Central Committee and the CMC while severely contaminating the political environment of the equipment sector in the military and the ethics of relevant industries.

His disciplinary and law violations brought enormous damage to the Party's cause, the development of national defence and the armed forces, and the image of senior officials, it said.

Li is a Chinese aerospace engineer and headed China’s powerful missile force, officially called Rocket Force as the General of the PLA before he was elevated as minister.

His sacking followed a major shakeup in the PLA Rocket (missile) Force in which its commander, Li Yuchao, and political commissar, Xu Zhongbo, were replaced without any official explanation.

Both their summary dismissals sent shockwaves among the Chinese officialdom besides raising questions over the process of selection of officials for key jobs by Xi.

Li was appointed as Defence Minister even though he was sanctioned by the US in 2018 for the purchase of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 surface-to-air missiles by China’s Equipment Development Department (EDD) in violation of Washington's sanctions on Moscow.

According to the investigation findings, Li's violations are serious in nature, with a highly detrimental impact and tremendous harm, the report said.

The Politburo also decided to transfer Li's suspected criminal case to the procuratorial organs of the military for examination and prosecution, it said.

The disciplinary action to expel Li from the Party will be confirmed by the CPC Central Committee when it convenes a plenary session in mid-July.

In an earlier decision, the CMC had expelled Li from military service and deprived him of his rank of general.