Li Shangfu

Disgraced Chinese admiral Miao Hua suspected of ‘legal violations’

Senior PLA ideology official already faced a disciplinary investigation, but now the authorities have hinted at more serious misconduct.

4 Jun 2025 - 3:46PM

China’s Communist Party

China’s military likens anti-corruption drive to preparations for war

3 May 2025 - 2:13PMvideocam

Senior PLA ideology official Miao Hua removed from China’s top legislature

30 May 2025 - 1:21PM

How did China’s top weapons brains become targets of its anti-corruption push?

Acceleration of defence sector’s anti-corruption drive may be linked to the downfall of former defence minister Li Shangfu, analysts say.

24 Mar 2025 - 1:44AMvideocam

China's military weapons

China’s military in frugal mode as it seeks best bang for its yuan

Armed forces must make greatest use of limited resources, PLA officers tell personnel in throes of modernisation push.

20 Mar 2025 - 6:00AMvideocam

Chinese defence industry exec Liu Weidong under investigation for corruption

CSGC deputy general manager named by anti-corruption watchdog just days after restructuring discussions announced.

12 Feb 2025 - 8:19PMvideocam

Deputy commander of China’s army among 5 stripped of lawmaker status in probe

Deng Zhiping, hailed after Vietnam border clashes in ’70s and ’80s, is latest to fall in President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign.

14 Sep 2024 - 2:16PMvideocam

Deng Zhiping was among five lawmakers removed from the NPC, China’s top legislature, on Friday. Photo: Weibo

China’s third plenum

China eyes bold 10-year tech and economic goals, sets plenum dates

Plan should balance ‘economy and society, government and market, efficiency and equity, vitality and order, development and security’.

1 Jul 2024 - 10:21AMvideocam

Beijing says Shangri-La meeting of Chinese, US defence chiefs was ‘positive’

Singapore meeting had a ‘positive effect’ on promoting understanding, says Chinese defence ministry spokesman.

31 May 2024 - 8:43PMvideocam

China’s Communist Party

China’s top legislative body to discuss ‘appointments and dismissals’

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee signals a further shake-up following the dismissal of senior generals and former defence minister Li Shangfu.

8 Feb 2024 - 6:03PMvideocam

So far Beijing has not explained why Li Shangfu was dismissed as defence minister after just months in the job. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ex-Chinese defence minister’s absence from Lunar New Year list sparks questions

Wei’s successor Li Shangfu was abruptly removed from his post last year, along with a number of other senior military figures.

8 Feb 2024 - 4:34PMvideocam

Wei Fenghe stepped down as defence minister last year. Photo: Reuters

China’s Communist Party

Will China’s top legislative body shed new light on fates of sacked ministers?

The National People’s Congress Standing Committee will review the qualifications of ‘certain individual representatives’ next week, state media reports.

19 Dec 2023 - 7:10PMvideocam

US defence secretary to meet Chinese counterpart ‘when that person is named’

Beijing has not had a defence minister since Li Shangfu was removed from the post in October for unknown reasons.

17 Nov 2023 - 7:15AMvideocam

Editorial | Clarity can help clear air over why Beijing sacked two ministers

Within a few months of their appointments, two important Chinese faces to the world, Qin Gang and Li Shangfu, were gone and no one seems to know why.

26 Oct 2023 - 11:11PM

Chinese President Xi Jinping walks past Foreign Minister Qin Gang (front row, far left) and Defence Minister Li Shangfu (front row, far right) as he arrives for the closing session of the National People’s Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing in March. Photo: Reuters

Did China’s top general signal a restart in Beijing’s military diplomacy?

Zhang Youxia, China’s most senior military officer, met Serbia’s defence chief in a sign that the country’s military diplomacy could be normalising.

19 Oct 2023 - 6:46PMvideocam

China’s Central Military Commission’s first vice-chairman, General Zhang Youxia (right), meets Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Milos Vucevic on Tuesday in Beijing. Photo: Handout

Chinese general to step in for missing defence minister at security forum

Veteran of Chinese-Vietnamese war General Liu Zhenli will be face of the PLA in meetings with US representatives following unexplained disappearance of minister Li Shangfu, say sources.

13 Oct 2023 - 10:32PMvideocam

China will host Xiangshan Forum, but no word on missing defence chief

Ministry spokesman confirms regional security talks will be held in Beijing from October 29 to 31.

28 Sep 2023 - 7:50PMvideocam

China-Africa relations

China says it’s willing to stand with Africa ‘with one heart and one mind’

In address at security forum in Beijing, General Li Shangfu says military cooperation will make the world more stable and predictable.

29 Aug 2023 - 9:00PMvideocam

Defence Minister General Li Shangfu told the forum that “the principle of seeing each other as equals will not change in China-Africa cooperation”. Photo: EPA-EFE

China’s defence chief pushes PLA as force for peace, blames US for ‘chaos’

General Li Shangfu says Chinese military to work closely with partners on hi-tech weapons, counterterrorism and joint drills, while his Russian counterpart praises Beijing’s ‘big, serious’ advancements in weapons at defence expo in Moscow.

16 Aug 2023 - 4:07PMvideocam

Chinese military snubbed invite to defence conference, says US admiral

Indo-Pacific Command chief John Aquilino tells Aspen Security Forum that the US had not received a response to the invitation to attend the event in Fiji.

27 Jul 2023 - 6:08AMvideocam

Opinion | Why the US must revoke sanctions on China’s defence minister – now

While progress has been made on the diplomatic and military front, US-China military-to-military contact remains frozen. US sanction on Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu is a sticking point that must be resolved to avoid the risk of dangerous miscalculations.

19 Jul 2023 - 9:28AMvideocam

US to blame for poor relations, Chinese defence minister tells Kissinger

Li Shangfu warned Kissinger, who played a key role in establishing diplomatic ties, that relations in the 1970s are ‘hovering at the lowest point’ since then.

21 Jul 2023 - 2:18PM

Henry Kissinger said he was visiting “as a friend of China”. Photo: Weibo

China willing to boost military ties with Vietnam, ‘unite closely’

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu tells visiting his Vietnamese counterpart that their military relations are developing well.

27 Jun 2023 - 9:04PMvideocam

China and Thailand to expand military ties amid ‘security challenges’

Defence Minister Li Shangfu tells the Royal Thai Army’s commander-in-chief that Beijing is ready for more cooperation.

10 Jun 2023 - 9:00PMvideocam

Taiwan ‘biggest risk’ to US-China relations, Beijing’s top US envoy says

Ambassador Xie Feng made the remarks to American business leaders, adding that China has ‘always been open to dialogue’.

8 Jun 2023 - 10:59PMvideocam

China’s ambassador to the US Xie Feng told American business leaders that “no one wants peaceful reunification more than China does”. Photo: China’s US embassy

Australia

Australia pushes China for ‘strategic explanation’ of military build-up

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles also made comments that projected the Aukus alliance as a transparent initiative.

4 Jun 2023 - 7:04PMvideocam

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said China could look to Australia’s communication approach with its nuclear-powered submarine programme as the standard or model of “military transparency”. Photo: AP