China promotes top military officer targeted by American sanctions
- Li Shangfu, who was slapped by US bans over the PLA’s purchases of Russian fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles, has been made a full general
Beijing has promoted a senior military officer targeted by US sanctions to full general, official media reported.
Lieutenant General Li Shangfu, director of the Central Military Commission’s Equipment Development Department, was one of 10 officers named a full general on Wednesday, according to The PLA Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese military.
President Xi Jinping presided over a ceremony in Beijing for the promotions, which were part of celebrations for the 92nd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
The US government imposed sanctions on Li and the department last year for buying Russian fighter jets and surface-to-air missiles in defiance of US sanctions on Russia. While the department was barred from foreign export licences and access to US financial markets, Li was banned from using the US financial system, overseas exchanges, and from having a US visa.
There is little information available publicly on his background but Li is known to have long worked at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan province and to have played a key role in China’s space programme.
A Beijing-based Chinese military source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media, said Li, 61, was promoted because of his expertise in missile technology and his strong academic background.
