Both Qin and Li are believed to have been handpicked personally by Xi for their roles as ministers of foreign affairs and defence, said Chestnut Greitens.
“For them to be removed so quickly does raise questions about what information Xi is and is not getting when he selects people,” she said, as well as “what’s happening to cause them to be removed so quickly”.
“Interlocutors have to wonder if the person they’re dealing with has any power and clout back in Beijing, or will disappear tomorrow and be incommunicado for months.”
“NOT SOME OBSCURE OFFICIAL”
The possible removal of Li Shangfu and the unexplained sacking of Li Yuchao appear to indicate the campaign extends into the upper echelons of the world’s largest military force.
Lyle Morris, a senior fellow for foreign policy and national security at the Asia Society Policy Institute, wrote that Li Shangfu’s disappearance “suggests Xi’s anti-corruption campaign in the PLA (is) nowhere near done”, referring to the People’s Liberation Army.
“He’s not some obscure official that can be swept under the rug,” Morris wrote on.
China is yet to confirm that any of the men are under investigation – and has rebuffed repeated questions about their whereabouts.
Asked this week about Wall Street Journal reports that foreign minister Qin’s removal was tied to an alleged extra-marital affair, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing had “already released information about the appointment and removal”.
“I am not aware of the other situation you mentioned,” she said.
But the lack of official explanations on the status of the officials has fanned speculation about the inner workings of the world’s second-largest economy.
“That heightens the sense of unpredictability around Chinese foreign policy, at a time when China’s political system is already less transparent and harder for outsiders to understand,” said Chestnut Greitens.
Source: CNA
