Li Shangfu

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Li.
General
Li Shangfu
李尚福
File:Li Shangfu (2023) (cropped).jpg
Li in 2023
State Councilor of the People's Republic of China
In office
12 March 2023 – 24 October 2023
Serving with Wang Xiaohong, Wu Zhenglong, Shen Yiqin, and Qin Gang
Premier Li Qiang
13th Minister of National Defense
In office
12 March 2023 – 24 October 2023
Premier Li Qiang
CMC Chairman Xi Jinping
Preceded by Wei Fenghe
Head of the Equipment Development Department
In office
September 2017 – October 2022
Preceded by Zhang Youxia
Succeeded by Xu Xueqiang
Commander of the China Manned Space Program
In office
September 2017 – October 2022
Preceded by Zhang Youxia
Succeeded by Xu Xueqiang
Personal details
Born February 1958 (age 67)
Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Political party Chinese Communist Party
Alma mater
Military service
Allegiance  People's Republic of China
Service/branch  People's Liberation Army Ground Force
People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force
Years of service 1982–present
Rank 50px General

Li Shangfu (Chinese: 李尚福; pinyin: Lǐ Shàngfú; born February 1958) is a Chinese aerospace engineer and former military administrator who served as the 13th Minister of National Defence of China and as State Councillor of China from March to October 2023. He joined the People's Liberation Army as a technician at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in 1982. He was conferred the rank of general in July 2019, and was appointed as a member of the Central Military Commission in October 2022.

Li Shangfu previously served as Deputy Commander of the PLA Strategic Support Force and Deputy Commander of the PLA General Armaments Department. He spent 31 years working at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, including 10 years as the center director. He later served as head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission from 2017 to 2022.

Early life

Li Shangfu was born in February 1958 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, with his ancestral home in Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province. He is the son of Li Shaozhu (李绍珠), a Red Army veteran and former high-ranking officer of the PLA Railway Force.[1] Li Shangfu joined the PLA when he entered the National University of Defense Technology in 1978. After graduating in 1982, he began working at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center as a technician.[2]

Li attained a Doctor of Engineering in control theory and control engineering from Chongqing University.[3]

Career

In December 2003, he was promoted to Director (Commander) of the center at the age of 45. In 2006, he attained the rank of major general.[2] In his ten years as director of the Xichang center, Li oversaw several rocket launches, including the launch of the Chang'e 2 lunar probe in October 2010.[4]

After 31 years working in Xichang, Li was appointed Chief of Staff of the PLA General Armaments Department (GAD) in 2013, replacing Major General Shang Hong.[1][2] A year later, he was made Deputy Director of the GAD.[2]

File:Zhang Youxia (2017-12-07) 02.jpg
Zhang Youxia, Li and the Chinese delegation in Moscow, Russia in 2017

In 2016, Li was appointed Deputy Commander of the newly established PLA Strategic Support Force, which is responsible for cyberspace, space, and other high-tech warfare. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in the same year.[2] In September 2017, Li was appointed Director of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission, the successor department of the GAD, replacing General Zhang Youxia.[2]

In October 2017, Li was elected a member of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.[5]

Li Shangfu was conferred the rank of major general in July 2006. In August 2016, he was conferred the rank of lieutenant general. In July 2019, he was conferred the rank of general.[6]

Central Military Commission

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.[7] He ranked first among the members of the Central Military Commission.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9]

File:SCO Defense Ministers meeting (2023).jpg
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’.[10][11] 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.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14]

Disputes

Corruption allegations

In September 2023, Reuters reported that Li was under anti-corruption investigations by the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Military Commission.[15] 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.[16]

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 months absence from public view, without specifying the cause. The last public appearance was on 29 August 2023, when he delivered a speech at a security forum with African nations held in Beijing.[17]

U.S. sanctions

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.″[18][19][20] As a result, he is included in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.[21] 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.[22][23]

On 21 May 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden stated that his administration was considering lifting sanctions on Li,[24] 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.[25]

References

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External links

  • Quotations related to Li Shangfu at Wikiquote
  • Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
Military offices
Preceded by Director of the Xichang Satellite Launch Center
2003–2013		 Succeeded by
Zhang Zhenzhong
Preceded by Chief of Staff of the Headquarters of the General Armament Department of the People's Liberation Army
2013–2014		 Succeeded by
Fei Jiabing (zh)
New title Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force
2016–2017		 Succeeded by
Rao Kaixun
Preceded by Commander of the China Manned Space Program
2017–2022		 Succeeded by
Xu Xueqiang
Head of the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission
2017–2022
Government offices
Preceded by
General Wei Fenghe
 Minister of National Defense
2023		 Incumbent

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  18. ↑ US sanctions Chinese military for buying Russian weapons CNN, 21 September 2018.
  19. ↑ U.S. sanctions China for buying Russian fighter jets, missiles Reuters, 20 September 2018.
  20. ↑ CAATSA Section 231: "Addition of 33 Entities and Individuals to the List of Specified Persons and Imposition of Sanctions on the Equipment Development Department" U.S. Department of State, September 20, 2018.
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