Former Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu accused of corruption and expelled from Communist Party | World news

China's ruling Communist Party, led by President Xi Jinping, on Thursday expelled former Defense Minister General Li Shangfu over alleged corruption and launched legal proceedings against him, several months after his dramatic dismissal from his position.

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

Li, who led the People's Liberation Army's massive missile force and was personally handpicked for the top defense post by Xi himself, disappeared last year, sparking speculation that he was under investigation for corruption and indiscipline.

Li, who was also formerly was a state councilortop party post and member of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the general high command of the Xi-led PLA, was stripped of his delegate qualification to the 20th CPC National Congress, according to a Politburo meeting of the CPC Central Committee.

Li is among dozens of high-ranking PLA generals fired or punished for corruption since Xi, 71, took 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 organizational discipline. He sought to obtain undue advantages in personnel agreements for himself and others, took advantage of his position to obtain advantages for others and accepted in exchange enormous sums of money and valuables, Xinhua said.

He is suspected of corruption. He was also found to have offered money to others to obtain undue advantages, which constitutes the alleged crime of offering bribes. The investigation also found clues to other violations committed by Li, he added.

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

His violations of discipline and law have caused enormous damage to the Party's cause, the development of national defense and the armed forces, as well as the image of senior officials, he added.

Li is a Chinese aerospace engineer and led China's powerful missile force, officially called Rocket Force, as a PLA general before being elevated to the rank of minister.

His dismissal follows a major reshuffle within the PLA's Rocket Force, in which its commander, Li Yuchao, and political commissar, Xu Zhongbo, were replaced without any official explanation.

These two summary dismissals sent shockwaves through the Chinese bureaucracy and raised questions about Xi Jinping's selection process for key positions.

Li was appointed defense minister despite being sanctioned by the United States in 2018 over the Department of Development's purchase of Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 surface-to-air missiles. Chinese equipment (EDD), in violation of Washington's sanctions against Moscow.

According to the investigation's findings, the violations committed by Li are serious and can have an extremely detrimental impact and cause considerable harm, the report said.

The Politburo also decided to transfer Li's alleged criminal case to the military procuratorial organs for review and prosecution, he added.

The disciplinary measure 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 stripped him of his general rank.