China names US-sanctioned aerospace expert Li Shangfu as defence minister
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General Li Shangfu (right) was named China's new defence minister. With him at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing were General Zhang Youxia (centre) and General He Weidong (left), the vice-chairmen of China’s top military body.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BEIJING – China has named a general sanctioned by the United States as its new defence minister, setting up a potentially awkward encounter
General Li Shangfu was appointed Minister of National Defence and State Councillor – China’s equivalent of a Cabinet member – at the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing on Sunday.
The 65-year-old replaces outgoing defence chief Wei Fenghe, whose retirement was expected after he stepped down from the Central Military Commission at the Communist Party’s congress in October last year.
Gen Li joined the commission at the same session, becoming the first soldier on the body from the army’s Strategic Support Force, the branch created in a 2015 and restructured to focus on space, cyber, political and electronic warfare.
The move could spell more difficulties ahead for US-China ties – already strained over the shoot-down of an alleged Chinese spy balloon
Gen Li was targeted by Washington in 2018 for violating US sanctions by allegedly aiding in the transfer of Su-35 combat aircraft and S-400 missile system equipment from Russian arms seller Rosoboronexport to China. At the time, he was the director of the Equipment Development Department at the top military commission overseeing Chinese defence technology.
The US State Department levelled the wide-ranging sanctions at Russian entities, Gen Li and his department to “impose costs on Russia in response to its interference in the United States election process, its unacceptable behaviour in eastern Ukraine, and other malign activities”, according to a statement.
The restrictions imposed on Gen Li included a prohibition on foreign exchange transactions under US jurisdiction, a prohibition on transactions with the US financial system, blocking of all property within the US, and a visa ban.
His ascension to the country’s top defence post also signals Beijing’s growing emphasis on aerospace defence technology.
After graduating from China’s National University of Defence Technology, Gen Li held posts at the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, where he oversaw the launch of China’s first lunar probe. During his time there, China also successfully launched its first anti-satellite missile.
Gen Li also has experience working with General Zhang Youxia, current vice-chairman of China’s top military body and a family friend of President Xi Jinping. He worked as the chief of staff and then deputy director at the General Armaments Department between 2013 and 2015, when Gen Zhang was the director.
Gen Li took over from Gen Zhang and appeared at a civil-military fusion forum in 2017 as the head of the Equipment Development Department, after serving as the inaugural chief of staff and deputy commander of the army’s Strategic Support Force in 2016.
During a debate on the government’s work report delivered at the NPC last week, Gen Li reiterated the need to improve integrated national strategies and capabilities – a reference to the much-scrutinised civil-military fusion effort bringing together companies and the armed forces.
The military should “carry out military-diplomacy work with a focus on serving the big picture of political diplomacy”, Gen Li said on March 6.
China’s annual Parliament session kicked off on March 5 in Beijing and will end on March 13. Late last week, NPC members officially gave Mr Xi a norm-busting third term as president.
