Chinese defense minister sidelined amid corruption probe: reports

China’s defense minister has been placed under investigation by Beijing officials over alleged corrupt procurement of military equipment, according to multiple reports. 

Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who has not been seen in public for more than two weeks, was taken away for questioning by authorities last week in relation to his role in weapons buying, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.  

And The Financial Times reported, citing U.S. officials, that the Biden administration believes Li, who was appointed as defense minister in March, has been placed under investigation.

China has not publicly confirmed such actions, but the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, further stoked speculations when he announced late Thursday that Li was a no-show for a planned trip to Vietnam and was absent from a scheduled meeting with the chief of Singapore’s navy “because he was placed on house arrest???” 

“As Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark,’” Emanuel wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

The National Security Council and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meanwhile, said Friday that he had no information on Li’s status but that the United States remains “fully prepared . . . to engage with the Chinese government, whoever happens to be holding the positions of responsibility at a given time.” 

The absence of Li, who led China’s military’s procurement unit from 2017 to 2022, comes amid turmoil within Beijing’s national security arm.  

Chinese President Xi Jinping two months ago dismissed the top two generals on the country’s People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which develops Beijing’s long-range missiles and nuclear weapons. 

Former Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang also was fired from his role in July. 

Reuters reported that eight senior officials in the Beijing’s military’s procurement arm, are also under investigation along with Li.  

Li was last seen in Beijing on Aug. 29, according to Reuters. 

He was intended to visit to Vietnam for an annual defense meeting between the Beijing and Hanoi scheduled for Sept. 7-8, but the meeting was canceled Sept. 3, due to a “health condition” that Li had.