Li Shangfu

In October 2022, he was nominated as a member of the 20th Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party by Party general secretary Xi Jinping.[8] He ranked first among the members of the Central Military Commission.[8]

On January 18, 2023, Li Shangfu attended the Central Military Commission promotion ceremony, and was appointed State Councilor and Minister of National Defense on March 12 of the same year, succeeding Wei Fenghe.[9] According to The Diplomat, Li's promotion reflects Chinese attempts to prioritize aerospace in its defense modernization program, against a backdrop of increasing technological competition between China and the United States.[10]

Li at the SCO defence ministers' meeting in New Delhi, India, 28 April 2023

On April 17, 2023, Li made his first overseas visit to Russia. As part of his four-day visit, he met with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow. During his meeting, he stated the ties between China and Russia ‘surpass military-political alliances of the cold war era’.[11][12] On April 28, he met with Indian Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh as part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation defence ministers' meeting in New Delhi, India, making it the first visit to India by a Chinese Defence Minister since the 2020 border skirmishes between Indian and Chinese troops.[13]

In June 2023, at the 2023 IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Li made public comments stating that war with the United States would be an unbearable disaster and that both the United States and China needed to seek more common ground in the wake of recent escalations between the two countries.[14]

Concluded on 24 October 2023, the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress decided to remove Li Shangfu from the posts of State Councilor and Minister of National Defense and remove Qin Gang from the post of State Councilor.[15] He has also been removed from the Central Military Commission.[16] With a tenure of seven months, Li is the shortest-serving minister of national defense of the People's Republic of China.[17]

In September 2023, Reuters reported that Li was under anti-corruption investigations by the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission.[18] His absence had been observed and speculated on by U.S. government officials, who told the Financial Times they believed that Li was under investigation.[19]

On 24 October 2023, it was reported through China Central Television that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress signed off on his removal from the Ministry of National Defense, following a two month absence from public view, without specifying the cause. His last public appearance was on 29 August 2023, when he delivered a speech at a security forum with African nations held in Beijing.[16]

On 20 September 2018, Li Shangfu, along with the Equipment Development Department, were sanctioned by the U.S. government for "engaging in significant transactions with persons" sanctioned under United States federal law CAATSA, namely for transactions that involved "Russia's transfer to China of Su-35 combat aircraft and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment."[20][21][22] As a result, he is included in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.[23] Despite the sanctions imposed on him by the United States, he would be allowed to conduct official meetings with his American counterparts although an exemption will not be issued to waive his sanction designation.[24][25]

On 21 May 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden stated that his administration was considering lifting sanctions on Li,[26] though later in press briefing on 22 May, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the United States is not considering lifting sanctions.[27]