Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, May 8: China has sentenced two former defence ministers, Li Shangfu and Wei Fenghe, to suspended death sentences on corruption charges, marking one of the harshest punishments handed to senior military officials under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s so-called sweeping anti-corruption campaign within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
According to Chinese state media reports published on Thursday, military courts convicted both former ministers of accepting massive bribes and abusing their official positions while serving in the country’s military leadership. The sentences come amid an unprecedented purge of top-ranking PLA officials that has intensified over the past two years.
Li Shangfu was reportedly found guilty of accepting and offering bribes, while Wei Fenghe was convicted of taking bribes during his tenure in senior military posts. They received death sentences with a two-year reprieve, a form of punishment under Chinese law that is typically commuted to life imprisonment without parole if the individual does not commit further offenses during the suspension period.
In addition to the sentences, the court ordered the confiscation of all personal assets belonging to the two former officials and stripped them of political rights for life.
The ruling represents a dramatic fall from grace for two figures who once occupied the highest echelons of China’s military establishment. Both Li and Wei served as state councillors and members of the Central Military Commission, the Communist Party body overseeing the PLA and chaired by Xi Jinping himself.
Li Shangfu’s removal from office in 2023 had sparked widespread speculation after he disappeared from public view for months without explanation. Beijing later confirmed that he had been dismissed as defence minister and expelled from the Communist Party over corruption allegations. Before his appointment as defence minister in March 2023, Li headed the Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission and had previously been sanctioned by the United States over China’s purchase of Russian military equipment.
Wei Fenghe, who served as defence minister between 2018 and 2023, was the first commander of the PLA Rocket Force, China’s strategic missile branch overseeing conventional and nuclear missiles. His downfall came amid broader investigations targeting senior Rocket Force officials and military procurement networks.
The sentencing of the two former ministers is touted as Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive within the military, which Beijing says is aimed at eliminating graft, strengthening party loyalty, and modernizing the armed forces. Since launching the campaign, Chinese authorities have removed or investigated dozens of senior officers, including generals from the Rocket Force, defence procurement agencies, and the aerospace sector.
However, analysts say the crackdown reflects both Xi’s determination to consolidate control over the military and persistent concerns over corruption within China’s defence establishment despite years of previous purges. The repeated removal of senior officers has also fuelled speculation among observers regarding internal instability, factional tensions, and the operational readiness of the PLA as China expands its military ambitions regionally and globally.
