HONG KONG: General Li Shangfu, named on Sunday (Mar 12) as China's new defence minister, is a veteran of the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) modernisation effort - a drive that led the United States to sanction him over the acquisition of weapons from Russia. Although his new post within the Chinese syste
As director, he was named in sanctions imposed by the US State Department in September 2018 over the purchase of 10 Su-35 combat aircraft in 2017 and equipment related to the S-400 surface-to-air missile system from Russia's main arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.
When asked last week about Li's impending rise, Pentagon spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Marty Meiners said that the US military could not comment on media reports about China's leadership changes, but that they had been clear in wanting to maintain communications with the PLA. Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, said China was likely to use the dynamic for diplomatic gain - either by presenting the sanctions as immaterial if they are overlooked, or by suggesting it's Washington, not Beijing, that doesn't want to engage.Li's term at the Central Military Commission has highlighted his ties to Xi, who has strengthened his grip across the military.
Zhang was promoted to first vice-chairman of the CMC during the Communist Party's Congress in October, with Li following him onto the commission's governing seven-person group.
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